I Still Believe
by StarVix
Summary: Sonic the Hedgehog finally gives in to Amy's constant pleadings and agrees to go on an outing with her, and she takes him...to church? Here he makes a desision that alters his life and may be the only hope for a Shadow the Hedgehog in another dimension...
1. Chapter 1

**To the readers: This story doesn't make a strong precedence on humor, although humor will be present. I put it down as 'spiritual' because 'Christianity' is not a category. It is an allegory; sort of like Pilgrim's Progress. I am not copying Pilgrim's Progress, this is an original allegory. The song 'I still believe' will be frequently mentioned, it is sung by Jeremy Camp. To God be all the glory.**

* * *

**Chapter 1—Set Me Free**

"**I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."—John 8:34 (NIV)**

"**You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."—John 8:32 (NIV)**

**Set Me Free**

**From the Chains Holding Me**

**Is anybody out there hearing me?**

**Set Me Free**

**—**_**Set Me Free**_**, Casting Crowns**

The forests are considered peaceful places; particularly at night, when the nighttime creatures sing their songs and most beings are sleeping instead of disturbing the natural quietness. So it stood to reason that the lone figure darting through these woods, out of breath and seemingly terrified of something he could not see, would be considered out of place.

The man was an ebony black hedgehog with red stripes and crimson eyes that bore the look of a hunted animal desperate to escape. He wore black, medieval-type armor that seemed to be even darker than the nighttime air about him; his sword, which literally radiated yet more darkness, was drawn as if to ward off his invisible pursuer. Yet the most unique thing about his wardrobe was a thick band around his neck, almost like a necklace but considerably wider and heavier than said piece of jewelry, that was glowing red very faintly around the edges.

Although some of you might think that this medieval persona was called Lancelot; sadly, I must correct you. Lancelot, while a fine medieval fighter and a cool guy, was certainly _not _a black hedgehog, despite what certain recent video games might say. Most video games are generally works of fiction; and besides, the idea of turning the Knights of King Arthur's court into animals was probably not a very bright one.

Besides, I don't think Lancelot would be so intent on evading a pursuer that he tripped over a root and fell flat on his face, like the young hedgehog we are currently observing has just done. Although it would probably be amusing to watch.

Thinking some very unclean thoughts, the hedgehog quickly pushed himself up and regained the sword he had dropped and scrambled back to his feet, his wide eyes frantically searching the woods behind him, to ensure himself that his fall had not been heard by the person or persons he was running from. Reasonably assured that he was still safe, he turned back towards his previous destination—

—and froze as he stared into cruel, heartless, glowing lime-green eyes.

"There you are, Shadow," the owner of said eyes whispered, his voice sounding soft and melodious. He was also wearing black medieval armor; and though one might not think it possible, it was even more dark and foreboding than the outfit currently worn by Shadow—for that's the name of the hedgehog we were observing earlier. But unlike Shadow's, this creature's armor was also adorned with a large red image of a dragon upon his chest. The dragon was the color of blood, and it's mouth was open as if to swallow an unfortunate victim whole.

"Mephiles," Shadow replied, a look of horror on his face as he quickly readied his sword.

Mephiles turned his hostile eyes on Shadow's weapon. Far from being worried or nervous about a deadly weapon being raised to him, he actually seemed rather amused.

"Is this the way a soldier treats his commanding officer?" Mephiles asked.

"You're no commanding officer to me," Shadow spat defiantly. "I finally realized what you really are."

"I'm hurt," Mephiles said, although he didn't sound injured in the least. "I thought you were my friend."

"Slave, you mean," Shadow hissed vindictively. "I refuse to serve you any longer. You will not control me for another instant!"

Mephiles cocked his head. Finally he drew his weapon. His sword was black, and radiating the same darkness as Shadow's, yet at the same time it seemed to glow the same color as the dragon on Mephiles' chest. "Do not be a fool," he said calmly. "Where would you go? To our enemy the King? Do you think the King would take you in? After all, you have been murdering His citizens in cold blood for years now."

The sword in Shadow's hands seemed to start to quiver. "Anywhere is better than staying with you," he said, yet his voice seemed to shake.

"Is it?" Mephiles leaned in close and whispered in Shadow's ears. "With me you have safety. You know that the King will kill you the instant he gets the chance."

This was a blatant lie; Mephiles knew the King was just and merciful. Even now, all Shadow had to do was cry out for mercy for his crimes and he would be forgiven on the spot; and Mephiles would lose Shadow forever. And most likely his own head, as well. Mephiles' own Master, the dark dragon Lucifer, did not at all appreciate losing a single soul to the King.

Unfortunately, Shadow did not at all know this. The hedgehog's sword wavered slightly and his eyes showed uncertainty. The collar around his neck started to glow slightly brighter.

Mephiles felt triumphant as Shadow's sword dropped to the ground and the hedgehog bowed his head in defeat. The Dark One snapped his fingers and several black, ill-formed creatures emerged from the darkness and bound Shadow in chains. Shadow did not resist; he was unable, as the lie Mephiles had told him simply stripped him of all will to fight.

Why struggle when one has no hope?

"Take him back to camp," Mephiles ordered one of the demonic creatures. "And see to it that he is bound in chains and caged so he does not escape again!"

The creature nodded and he and his cohorts started to drag the unresisting Shadow off.

Mephiles waited until they were all out of sight, then he allowed himself to show his uncertainty. "I almost thought I'd lost him to the King," he muttered. "It seems that girl did not teach him as much as I feared…"

* * *

Shadow the Hedgehog curled up in the cold, small cage that the creatures had shoved him in. It was hard to curl up enough to warm himself, as he was still heavily chained. He was thoroughly miserable, yet he had been thoroughly miserable long before he had been thrust in here.

How could he have possibly once thought that these monsters he served were noble creatures, or that the massacres they did regularly—that _he _did regularly—were just? Could he have honestly thought that a mere week ago?  
Of course, that was before the last massacre. Before he met…her.

Maria.

* * *

_Commander Shadow the Hedgehog surveyed the village below him. He felt nothing but disgust for the pathetic weaklings who lived below; who followed a corrupt King who cared nothing for them._

_"Like sheep for the slaughter," his commanding officer, Mephiles the Dark, the only one who currently outranked him, chuckled. "Isn't that right, Shadow?"_

_"They deserve to die," Shadow replied emotionlessly. _

_Mephiles chuckled again. "Don't worry, they will," he said softly. "They will."_

_Then the Dark raised his sword above his head. He held it there for a long second, then he pointed it towards the village. "Wipe them all out!" he ordered, and his forces charged the town._

_Shadow was at the front line._

* * *

Thunder boomed in the distance and temporarily jolted Shadow from his unpleasant memories; the ebony hedgehog listlessly raised his head just in time for a flash of lighting to light his worn features for a fraction of a second. With a barely audible moan—his cage was made so he was a the mercy of the full fury of the elements—Shadow slumped again, too miserable and exhausted to even continue to hold up his own head.

* * *

_Shadow's sword was already satiating it's desire for the blood of the people who dared to trust the King when he broke down a doorway into a small cottage. He looked around but saw no one._

_"Grandfather?"_

_A small voice, like wind chimes signing in a soft breeze, caused him to turn. A young girl, no more than ten, in a blue dress and short blonde hair, was looking frightened with tears running down her cheeks. Her bright blue eyes turned to Shadow and she stared at him for a long, agonizing moment._

_"You're not Grandfather," she said softly._

_"No, I'm not," Shadow replied._

_"Are you going to kill me?"_

_Shadow cocked his head. "Yes," he said simply._

_The girl nodded, looking calm. This puzzled Shadow._

_"Are you not afraid to die?"_

_"I don't need to be scared," the girl said simply. "My King will take care of me."_

_Shadow's eyes narrowed and he brought up his sword. "Foolish child," he snarled, starting to thrust it towards her chest._

_Her next words however, shook him to his core. "I forgive you."_

_The sword froze in its path; a mere inches away from the bold child who stood calmly, awaiting her death with no fear._

_"W-what?" Shadow asked, his eyes wide with shock._

_"I forgive you," the girl replied. When Shadow failed to respond, she gave him a small, sympathetic smile. "It's OK," she said. "You may do your job. I forgive you."_

_"I…" Shadow looked into the eyes of his young victim and he could not do it. He could not kill this child in cold blood. He could not murder this young girl who smiled up at the face of her murderer and offered forgiveness. He numbly sheathed his sword._

_"If you value your life, you will come with me," he ordered, holding out his hand._

_The girl gave him a sad smile. "If that is what you wish," she conceded, taking the proffered hand. Shadow swiftly darted out of the cottage and darted off down the back alleys of the town, being sure to keep out of sight of his 'companions' lest he be forced to explain why he was aiding an enemy in escaping when none were to be left alive._

_The Hedgehog was certain that he would be caught and branded a traitor; his ears flattened and his heart thumped with an excitement one can only achieve when doing a kindness one knows is forbidden. _

'Why am I risking myself for this worthless child?'_ he thought to himself. _'She's one of **them**. She deserves death.' _But, even as he thought these harsh words, in his heart he did not believe them._

_Shadow did not stop running until he was well away from the village, and clear from all chances of his fellow's spying him and bringing uncomfortable questions about his actions. It was only then that he slowed down and started to think about what must be done now. He could not take the girl to his camp; nor could he leave her alone in the wilderness. And he was not going to betray his commander any more than he had already. What could he do?_

_His eyes fell upon a small cave, more than large enough for the both of them to get inside at their full heights, yet not so large as to be inconspicuous. And it was close enough to the camp that he could get to and fro easily; yet far enough away that one could not see the cave from the camp, or vise versa. _

_Quite pleased at his impromptu discovery, Shadow dragged the child to the cave and unceremoniously tossed her onto the ground._

_"You will stay in this cave," he ordered her. "If you leave for any reason, your life is forfeit."_

_The girl nodded, her blue eyes soft and compassionate. "My name is Maria," she said softly. "What's yours?"_

_Shadow paused, then decided nothing would be lost should he indulge the child. "Shadow."_

* * *

Something hard hit Shadow across the face, and he gasped, looking down to where it had fallen.

A rock.

The ebony hedgehog's eyes hardened and he looked up in time for another rock to hit him just above the eye, cutting flesh. Shadow glared at a laughing creature, who had obviously thrown the first two rocks and was playfully tossing a third in the air and catching it. Finally, it jeered at threw it at Shadow with all its might; and as the other two had, the rock slipped between the bars. This one nailed him just behind the ear, causing his vision to blur and he began to hear ringing. Laughing once more, the creature sauntered off, presumably to find some other victim to torment.

Shadow half-closed his eyes as his head throbbed from the blows. Laughter. He could remember a time when laughter had not been full of cruelty…

* * *

_It had been three days since Shadow had saved Maria from the fate Mephiles had deemed for her; and as he always did, he appeared inside the cave mouth as the sun reached its peak with food; for most of the army was sleeping in the heat at this time and could not observe him leaving._

_As usual, Maria greeted him with a quick hug and a happy laugh._

_Shadow bared his fangs and flattened his ears at the show of physical affection; but Maria just giggled, knowing full well he liked the attention._

_"I don't see what a little prisoner like you has to laugh about," he said gruffly, as he always did when he came to see her._

_Maria smiled back at him; a pure, radiant smile without a hint of bitterness or resentment. "I am alive when I should be dead; I am safe and I have food to eat and shelter from the rain; and my good friend Shadow has come to see me. What do I not have to laugh about?"_

_Shadow's eyes fell to the ground as he felt a feeling quite foreign to him: shame. "I don't see why you would call me friend," he muttered. "I helped kill everyone in your village and I'm keeping you prisoner here. You may never have your freedom again."_

_Maria frowned; she so disliked seeing him so unhappy. She hugged him again. "Whom my King has freed, is free indeed," she said, smiling brightly. "Nothing can take my freedom from me, not ropes, chains, death…and especially not my good friend Shadow!" Her smile was so bright, and her faith, which Shadow believed was childlike naïveté, was so pure and simple, that Shadow could not help but smile back. _

_Maria, feeling pleased that she'd cheered him up, released her hold on his waste and sat on the cave floor, looking up at him expectantly. Not willing to disappoint, Shadow calmly handed her the small bag of food he'd swiped from the camp and watched her eagerly bite into the first morsel._

_"Shadow," she said, after the last bite had been eaten. He had been turning to leave; her call bade him pause._

_"What?" he asked._

_"Why do you serve those bad people?" _

_Shadow gave Maria a condescending look. "I don't 'serve' anyone," he replied. "I do as I please."_

_"Does it please you to do as they ask?" Maria asked innocently._

_"I…" Shadow had no answer. Maria nodded at his silence, her face conveying a wisdom beyond her years._

_"Why don't you leave?" she asked._

_Again, Shadow had no answer. He merely turned from her and crossed his arms, his mind swirling. _

_"I have nowhere else to go," he finally admitted softly._

_Maria's eyes lit up. "You can come with me to the King's country!" she said._

_Shadow scoffed at her. "The King? He would _never _accept an enemy like me, and even if He did, how could I serve such a tyrant?"_

_"Tyrant?" Maria looked sad. "Oh, Shadow, the King is not a tyrant. He's good, and kind, and merciful. There is no evil in Him. Honest there's not. And he _would _accept you! He wants everyone to come to Him, truly He does!"_

_Shadow looked at her as one would look at a small child who'd just told them that Santa Claus was real. "And why should I believe this?" he asked._

_Maria looked at him intently, and her reply shook him to his core. "Because it's the Truth."_

* * *

The Truth. All his life Shadow had searched for it. He had believed he'd found it; his heart had told him so. But now…now, as he lay here in this horrid cage, the rain beginning to pelt his body, chilling him even more, he now knew his heart had deceived him. And he no longer had any idea what Truth was.

* * *

_Something was not right here. Mephiles and a party of his scouts and warriors had left some time ago and had not returned. Shadow felt very uneasy at this; but it was time to go see Maria and he could worry later._

_Later never came, for when he came in sight of the cave his heart seemed to stop in his chest._

_Mephiles was there, with his warriors. And Maria, her hands bound behind her, being forced to her knees. One of Mephiles' warriors was holding her by her hair so she could not move._

_"Shadow," Mephiles said, although his voice seemed thick with suspicion. "We found a survivor. A filthy citizen of the King. Would you like to do the honors of killing her?"_

_Shadow's mouth felt like cotton. "P-perhaps she could recant," he said, half-pleadingly._

_Mephiles cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. Then he nodded. "Very well. If you can get the brat to recant her citizenship to the King, she will be allowed to live."_

_Shadow leaned in close to Maria. "Recant," he whispered. "It's the only way to save your life."_

_Maria looked up at him, her eyes sad yet determined. "How can I recant the Truth?"_

_"Who are you to say what is the Truth?" Shadow snapped, his heart thumping. "If you wish, you can go back to the King later. You said He forgives everyone!"_

_Maria gave him a sad smile. "Yes, but I could never bear the knowledge that I betrayed the One who gave up everything for me," she whispered._

_"Maria…please…"_

_"What is your decision, girl?" Mephiles snapped, wishing to get on with it._

_Maria looked up to Mephiles defiantly, then she raised her eyes to the heavens and began to sing._

_"I still believe in Your faithfulness_

_I still believe in Your truth_

_I still believe in Your Holy Word;_

_Even when I do not see,_

_I still believe!"_

_"So be it," Mephiles said coldly, motioning one of the creatures, who raised his sword high._

_"NO!!!" Shadow screamed, leaping towards the offending blade. As he did, Mephiles nodded, and a creature behind Shadow lifted his own blade._

_"MARIA!!!" Shadow screamed as her body crumpled to the ground. "NO!!!" _

_Mephiles felt nothing but disgust as Shadow fell to his knees next to Maria's body and picked her up, sobbing silently. Finally, the hedgehog's tortured, crimson eyes looked up to the Dark in despair._

_"Why?" he asked, his voice breaking._

_"You know why," Mephiles said, showing contempt. _

_"But she wasn't like the rest of them!"_

_Mephiles made a huge mistake. He replied, "She was exactly like the rest of them."_

_Shadow's eyes widened in shock, and he looked down at the body of his friend with remorse. "I'm so sorry," he whispered._

_To Mephiles' horror, the red, glowing collar around Shadow's neck flashed, then dulled to where it was barely lit. Shadow blinked and gingerly reached up and touched it, as if noticing it for the first time._

_He glared at Mephiles. "She was right. I _am _a servant. But no longer." He stood defiantly. _

_"What do you intend to do about it?" Mephiles sneered._

_Without blinking, Shadow replied, "I'm defecting," and darted off into the woods._

_"After him!" Mephiles screamed instantly. "We can't let the King have him!"_

* * *

Three days. That's how long he'd been in the cage. Three days without food or water. He was almost relieved that Mephiles finally determined he'd been punished enough and let him out. Almost.

Knowing that he was now and forever a slave to a monster put a damper on his jubilation of being released.

"I trust there will be no more talk of defection," Mephiles said pleasantly. Shadow glared at him, but did not answer.

"Just remember Shadow: The King wouldn't take you anyway. He might forgive everyone else, but _you've _done far too much evil for him to ever consider forgiving you." It was yet another lie. The Truth could free Shadow; lies kept him in bondage. And that was just the way Mephiles liked him: so bound up in lies that he could not even think of defiance.

Shadow bowed his head, his ears flattened in defeat. Mephiles, pleased with his reaction, ordered his chains removed. "You may retire to your quarters," the Dark said, and Shadow obeyed wordlessly.

It took every last ounce of strength Shadow had to force his body to walk to his quarters where he collapsed on the bed, too tired to move. Tears fell from his face as he thought of Mephiles' wicked lies; lies that he felt inclined to believe. He had done awful things; he had murdered women and children; he had burned down entire cities with their people locked inside their own homes; he had persecuted the King's citizens at every turn and practically spat in the King's own face. How on earth could he ever hope for the King to even consider forgiving him? He was no better than Mephiles.

A small thought entered his head; had not Maria insisted that the King's love and forgiveness was for everyone, even someone as wicked as him? Surely Maria was incapable of lying to him, but yet…

* * *

_"What are you doing, Maria?"_

_The child was sitting on the floor with her food on her lap, her hands clasped in front of her as her lips moved._

_Maria looked up. "I'm thanking the King for my food," she replied._

_Shadow looked amused. "Your King is thousands of miles from here," he told her. "He can't hear you."_

_"The King can see everywhere and hear everything," Maria said matter-of-factly._

_"If that is so, why does he not send his warriors to save you?" Shadow scoffed. "Surely your great and wise King cares for the fate of a little girl like you!"_

_Maria looked up at Shadow sadly. "I wish you would not mock the King like that, Shadow."_

_Shadow could find nothing to say; he stared at the ground, half-ashamed._

_"I don't know why the King does some things," Maria replied. "But I do know that whatever happens, in the end everything will work out fine. Even if I'm killed, my soul will go to live with the King forever!"_

_"I see," Shadow gave her a smile; he did not have the heart to mock her again._

_"Until then, I will thank Him for my food and I know he hears me," Maria said contentedly._

* * *

"Maria…I hope your soul really is with your King," Shadow whispered, as tears streamed down his face. Perhaps Maria had given him his answer…if the King could hear and see everything and everyone, surely He could hear Shadow. The question was, would He listen? But what did Shadow have to lose?

"May Maria's King hear my petition," he whispered softly so none of the other creatures might hear him and torment him again. Maria had whispered during her prayer; so apparently the King had remarkable hearing. "If there is _any _way a just King could take pity on an unjust man, may You take pity upon me. If I can be forgiven, please…please send someone who can save me from Mephiles! I…I beg you, please…grant me pardon."

Shadow's collar flashed bright again, so bright it lit up the room around him. When it dissipated, Shadow was surprised to see the collar lying on the floor in a million pieces. He gingerly touched his throat—it was really gone! The King had listened and had forgiven him!

Shadow felt an innumerable amount of joy, a supernatural joy that did not disappear even when Mephiles stomped into his quarters to see what had happened. The Dark's eyes widened in…fear?...as he saw the shattered remains of Shadow's collar.

"The King _did _forgive me," Shadow said. "You don't own me anymore."

Mephiles angrily slapped Shadow across the face. The blow sent the hedgehog hurling to the ground. "I will _always _own you, you piece of trash! I will make you recant your so-called faith, if I have to break every single bone in your body to make you do so! Take him away!"

As two guards dragged Shadow off, Mephiles screamed in anger as he heard Shadow softly start singing.

_"Even when I do not see_

_I still believe!"_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Biblical verses in this chapter are taken from Today's New International Version and the New International Version. The song 'Everlasting God' is sung by Chris Tomlin.**

**Chapter 2—Born Again**

**For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. –Ephesians 2:8-9**

**In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."—John 3:3**

**I feel like I'm born again**

**I feel like I'm living**

**For the very first time**

**I'm living for the first time**

**In my life**

**--**_**Born Again**_**, Third Day**

* * *

"Sonic, _please_ do this with me, just this once!"

Sonic moaned silently and opened his eyes. There she was, her hands clasped pleadingly as she begged for his attention: Amy Rose. Three months ago she'd stopped chasing him and he'd hoped she had gotten over that childish infatuation of him once and for all.

Apparently, that was not the case.

"Amy…" Sonic started to sigh, ready to tell her flat out that he was not interested in a date, not now, not ever, when Amy cut him off.

"I promise, if you go to this great place with me just once, I'll never ask you to do anything with me ever again! I really won't! Oh, please Sonic? Please, please, please promise you'll go with me just this once?"  
Sonic considered her request. _One _date and she'd leave him alone forever? That was an intriguing prospect for him; and after all, what could one friendly outing hurt? It wasn't like it would turn his whole world inside out!  
"Alright, Ames," he conceded. "One time."

"You'll go wherever I want?" Amy asked, grinning big.

"Sure, Ames." She'd probably take him to Twinkle Park and use the cute couples' get in free coupon, or to a romantic movie, or a fancy restaurant. No matter where she took him, he could handle it. It was just this once, after all.

"You promise you won't run away?" Amy pressed. She knew that Sonic never broke his word; if he promised he wouldn't run away, he wouldn't run away no matter what.

She figured she needed to make him promise, because otherwise she wouldn't get him inside the doorway of the place she wished to take him.

Sonic nodded, confident in his abilities to handle Amy Rose's place of choice. "I promise Amy," he said, starting to walk off.

"Great! Pick me up at six thirty so we can get there on time. And wear a suit!" Amy called after him.

"Don't worry Ames! I'll be there!" Sonic called back.

* * *

Six thirty on the dot Sonic was ringing Amy's doorbell, dressed in a suit and feeling a bit like a stuffed turkey in his clothes.

The door opened and Amy stepped out, wearing a nice green dress and a thick book under her right arm. Sonic couldn't make out what the book was, nor could he understand why Amy would want to take a book out on their date.

That word left a bad taste in Sonic's mouth. Perhaps from here on in he should refer to this excursion as a friendly outing. It made him feel less uneasy around Amy.

"You look very nice, Sonic," Amy said, a happy smile gracing her features.

"I feel like I'm being hung," Sonic replied, tugging at his way-too-tight collar.

Amy giggled. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"I guess so," Sonic admitted, already feeling that this was a bad mistake. But he'd promised, and Sonic the Hedgehog never backed out of a promise.

"Great! Follow me, it's not far from here."

Sonic tried to remember if there were any places that required a two-piece suit and tie near Amy's house and drew a blank. Oh well, he'd been out of the area for a while. Perhaps something new had come in and he hadn't found out about it yet.

Sonic wasn't sure what to expect, but imagine his surprise when Amy stopped at the doors of the local church building!  
"What are we doing here?" Sonic asked.

"We're going in, silly!" Amy giggled.

Sonic's jaw dropped. "What? No way am I going to waste my time in some boring old church!"

Amy frowned at him. "You promised you'd go wherever I decided to take you, Sonic! Are you breaking your promise to me?"

Sonic clenched his fists, then he sighed. "No," he said softly. "I never break my promises. But this is a waste of time. I don't need no church! I'm a good person, so God has to let me into heaven."

"Oh, he does, does he?" Amy sounded amused as the two walked into church.

"Straight up! I've single handedly saved the whole world more times than I can remember. That has to be enough to earn God's favor. Of course I'm going to heaven. And besides, no way is a loving God gonna send anyone to Hell anyway. This is all just a waste of my time."

Amy just shook her head at Sonic's insistence on his abilities to earn his way into heaven. "Well, you never know, Sonic," She said knowingly. "You might learn something you didn't before."

Sonic snorted and plopped himself down in the seat closest to the door, determined to be completely miserable and anti-social in this stupid old church.

Unfortunately, the people who went to this particular church wouldn't let him be anti-social. It started with an elderly lady sitting in front of him turning and shaking his hand, welcoming him to their church, and it seemed that every time he managed to dismiss one pleasant churchgoer, another one was there to take his or her place to be the church's official greeter.

Sonic even met one guy who as so old and senile he didn't even know who the hedgehog was. But that didn't stop him from shaking Sonic's hand and welcoming him to church, and _then _hold a one-sided conversation about his life from second grade to present.

Sonic looked over to Amy helplessly and she smiled at him. "George is a good person," she insisted. "He's just a little forgetful at times."

George confirmed Amy's statement by forgetting what he'd been talking about, looking over to Sonic, and starting his narrative over.

Great. Church hadn't even started yet, and Sonic was _already _bored out of his mind.

"Hello Miss Amy."

Amy looked up and smiled happily. "Hi, Pastor Jack," she said. "This is my friend, Sonic."

Sonic looked up to the pastor of the church. He looked to be in his early forties, with short black hair that was slightly graying near his temples. He had hazel eyes and wore glasses. He smiled and offered his hand to Sonic, who instinctively shook it.

"I'm glad you could join us, Sonic," Pastor Jack said, smiling.

"Actually, she tricked me and dragged me here against my will," Sonic replied.

Pastor Jack laughed and looked to Amy. "Is that true?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Amy grinned mischievously. "Whatever it takes, Pastor," she replied.

Pastor Jack laughed again. "Well, it's about time to start," he said, looking at his watch. He looked up again. "It was nice to meet you, Sonic."

Sonic muttered something that sounded like an agreement as Pastor Jack quickly walked to the front of the church. Sonic braced himself for the worst time of his life.

First, Pastor Jack welcomed everyone that came, then he made some announcements. Sonic didn't pay much attention to those. Afterwards, Pastor Jack asked for prayer requests. After everyone had told of their requests, the Pastor bowed his head and prayed. Sonic closed his eyes during the prayer; even if he didn't believe any of this was necessary, he might as well oblige everyone.

The music was much better than Sonic had thought. Instead of organ music, and reading out of hymnals, as he thought they would, this church had a set of drums, a piano, a guitar, and a bass guitar. Also, they had a projection screen and they displayed the words on it, so that Sonic could easily see the words.

_"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord_

_We will wait upon the Lord_

_We will wait upon the Lord_

_Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord_

_We will wait upon the Lord_

_We will wait upon the Lord_

_Our God, You reign forever_

_Our hope, our strong deliverer_

_You are the Everlasting God_

_The Everlasting God_

_You do not faint_

_You won't grow weary_

_You're the defender of the weak_

_You comfort those in need_

_You lift us up on wings like eagles."_

There were other songs; but Sonic enjoyed that one the most. He'd spent a good deal of his life defending those who were unable to defend themselves; the thought of God defending the weak as well was a pleasant one.

Finally, the singing was over and Pastor Jack walked onto the platform. He opened his Bible and placed it in front of him where he could see it. "Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans 9:3-12:

9What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.

10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one."

The Pastor paused after reading this, then he bowed his head and said a brief prayer. Afterwards, he looked around the room and started his message in earnest.

"I have heard many people state that they will be automatically allowed into Heaven because they are 'good people.' Yet according to the Bible, there is no such thing as a 'good person.'

"'But pastor,' you may say, 'I've never done anything bad. I don't break the laws, and I even do good deeds.' Well, my friend, I'm here to tell you that the Bible states, 'For _all _have sinned and come short of the glory of God.' (Romans 9:23). The word 'sin' literally means 'missing the mark.' You come short. You fail.

" 'How did I fail?' is a question you might wish to ask. I take you to the book of Exodus, chapter 20: 3-17. Here are God's standards, his laws for being a perfect person who's allowed to go to Heaven. They are called the Ten Commandments, and while I won't go into them at length, I will name a few.

"The first Commandment tells us to have no other god besides the Lord God. Another tells us not to murder. And yet another tells us not to commit adultery.

" 'I've never done any of that,' you say. Well, here's a few more commandments. One tells us not to take the name of the Lord in vain. Have you ever used God's name as a swear word? That's sin. You've missed the mark.

"Another commandment tells us not to lie. Not even little 'white' lies or fibs. There's one that tells us to honor our parents. Have you ever once talked back to your parents or dissed them behind their backs? You are sinning.

"The thing about sin is, if you sin even once, you are a sinner and God cannot allow a sinner into his presence. 'Oh, I know where this is going! This is the part where you say, 'God will send you to Hell for your sin; you'd better straighten your life out! Well, I don't believe that a loving God would send people to Hell!'

"I have a story I would like to share with you. A well-known judge's best friend had been caught breaking the law. The judge's friend had thought that since he knew the judge personally, the judge wouldn't send him to prison. However, the judge was an honest man and knew that his friend's crime called for a prison sentence.

"Do you understand where I'm going with this? It didn't matter that the judge knew the man personally or that the judge didn't want to sentence him to prison. The man had been proven guilty and the law stated that he had to go to prison. Whether the judge wanted him to go to prison or not did not matter; the judge had to obey the law and sentence his friend to a prison term.

"The laws of God says that sin must be punished. Romans 6:23 states, 'The wages of sin is death…' God is a just God, his laws state that sin must be punished.

"Sin must be punished by death; and everyone has sinned. So what could be done? You see, God loved everyone so much, he found a 'loophole', if you will.

"God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of our sin. He sent His only Son to die for us, to pay for our sin. There is now a way out for us, but we have to take it. Romans 6:23 goes on to say, 'but the gift of God is eternal life.' It is a gift; he won't force you to accept his pardon.

"Suppose that this man the judge had to sent had done a crime so great it called for his death. He is waiting on death row when his lawyer comes in, full of excitement, with his warden.

'The governor has granted you a full pardon,' the lawyer said. 'You're free to go!'

"But the man refuses to take the pardon! Everyone is shocked, and a debate starts in the court to determine whether a man can turn down a pardon from the governor. They ask him to change his mind over and over, but each time he refuses. He will not take the pardon.

"The state has no choice. Since the man refuses the pardon offered him, they continue with the sentence and execute him. It was his own choice; and he chose to die.

"God has offered you a way out from your sentence. He holds you a full pardon, paid for by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The choice is yours. Will you accept the pardon?

"The Bible clearly states that it is impossible to get into Heaven based on our own merits. We've committed sin; and contrary to some beliefs a 'good deed' does not blot out a 'bad deed.' The only thing that can blot out our sin is accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we do, our slate is wiped clean; we've accepted God's pardon and he no longer remembers the times we've missed the mark. He forgives us, wholly and completely."

About this time, Amy happened to look over to Sonic, who was clutching at the pew in front of him so hard his knuckles were turning white. He was unnaturally pale and his eyes were fixated on the preacher, paying rapt attention to what he said.

Sonic couldn't figure this out. Had this guy somehow overheard what he'd said to Amy? But he'd been outside the stinkin' church when he made the statement! Perhaps Amy had told him…but she'd been with Sonic the whole time and couldn't have told anyone anything without his knowledge!

No matter how it had happened, the pastor had, in a mere fifteen minutes, completely destroyed every rational and excuse Sonic had for achieving Heaven. As Shadow; Sonic had been blinded by the lies that he was good enough to make it into heaven on his own. The truth of God was now opening his eyes, causing him to see how badly he needed God.

Pastor Jack looked out over the congregation and said, "Please stand."

The entire congregation stood as the pastor continued, "There may be some people here today who have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. If that's you, I would like to invite you to come to the altar. God is holding out your pardon today, and he's asking you, 'Will you take it?'"

Sonic the Hedgehog had defeated robots, monsters, and so many other creatures supposedly stronger than himself that he could no longer remember them all. He was no stranger to conflict; he would later state that this night he had the hardest struggle of his entire life, as he wrestled with whether he should go to the altar or not.

_'This is crazy,_' he thought, even as he started to walk out of the pew. _'What if he's right?' _a still, small voice seemed to whisper back to him.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the church, and he was the only one standing up there.

Sonic felt like he was close to hyperventilating as Pastor Jack came to him and started, "Romans 10:9 states, 'If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. I'm going to pray, and I want you to repeat this prayer, but you have to mean it with your whole heart, ok? Don't just parrot the words."

Sonic nodded.

"Dear Jesus, I confess that I have missed the mark of Your perfection. I've broken Your law, and I know I deserve punishment. I know that You died for my sins, and I accept You as my Lord and Savior. I take the pardon You offer me and I surrender my life to Your will. In Jesus name, amen."

Tears began to stream down Sonic's muzzle as he quietly repeated the prayer the Pastor had prayed, and the cobalt blue hedgehog meant every word of it. No sooner had he said 'amen' than he felt as if a great weight had been removed; he felt more peace and joy than he'd ever felt in his entire life.

Sonic felt light on his feet as he walked back to the pew where Amy was literally beaming at him. It had been her greatest desire these past three months to see her friend come to know Jesus; it had been ever since she'd walked into this church out of curiosity and had also surrendered her life to Christ.

The pastor gave a brief prayer and dismissed the congregation, for church was over. Then he came to Sonic and asked to see him in his study.

Once down there, Pastor Jack gave Sonic a pamphlet entitled, 'What Happens Now?' and asked him to read it. Then he asked, "Do you have a Bible at home?"

Sonic shook his head; he'd never bothered to buy one. To his surprise, the Pastor reached into his desk and took out a Bible, which he presented to Sonic.

"The Bible is God's love letter to His people," he said. "It's His main way of communicating with us. Read it daily, alright?"

Sonic nodded, completely stunned as he accepted the gift.

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog never did anything half-way. He couldn't have kept his conversion to Christianity secret if he wanted to, but he couldn't fathom anyone wanting to keep such an amazing thing a secret!

Every day, he told everyone he met about Jesus, and whenever he read something in his Bible that he thought was amazing, unbelievably awesome, or just plain neat, he was right over at Amy's house sharing his discovery. If Amy wasn't available, he went to tell Tails. If he wasn't available…and it went right down the line so that every last one of Sonic's friends had (on more than one occasion) seen Sonic rushing over, so excited he couldn't contain himself, Bible held open with one hand, hurriedly saying something like, "You'll never believe this!" or "Look at this, this is awesome!"

While Amy was quite pleased with Sonic's enthusiasm, he was quite literally driving his non-Christian friends absolutely insane between his Bible findings, his witnessing attempts, and his continued pleadings to attend church with him.

"Tails, he's driving me crazy!" Knuckles complained one day in Tails' workshop. "I keep dropping hints that I'm not interested, but he's even more clueless than usual!"

Tails sighed as he got out from under the Tornado. He sort of agreed with Knuckles. Don't misjudge him; he was pleased that Sonic was so happy, he just wished that well…he would be a little more reserved. Tails was a scientist first and foremost; he believed that to be true, one must be able to see, feel, or touch something, be able to prove it. You couldn't put God in a test tube and prove His existence that way; therefore Tails couldn't or wouldn't admit to His existence.

Tails started to respond, when Sonic rushed into his workshop, his green eyes alight with excitement, and his beloved Bible held open in his hands. "Tails, Knux! I've been looking all over for you guys! Listen to this, this is amazing…"

Knuckles snapped. He stomped right up to Sonic, jabbed his finger in the hedgehog's chest, and snarled, "Shut. Up."

Sonic's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Huh?"

"I told you to shut up! Listen here, Sonic, none of us want to hear you prattle on and on about this Jesus nonsense, get it?"  
Sonic's jaw dropped. "It's not nonsense," he said, sounding both stunned and hurt.

"I can understand Amy falling for that garbage, she's so naïve and ditzy she'd believe anything. But face it, Sonic, you're _way _to old to believe in fairy tales like this!" Knuckles was so mad he refused to stop until he'd said his piece. "Face it, Sonic, this 'God' of yours doesn't exist and never did! You went and listened to some religious nut and had a emotional reaction, and you're not thinking properly! It's time to grow up and figure out you've been had, ok?"

Knuckles instantly regretted his harsh words at Sonic's crestfallen expression. He hadn't meant to lay into Sonic so hard; it was just that he'd been driving Knuckles so crazy.

"Sonic, I…"

"Forget it!" Sonic snapped, turning and rushing out of the workshop, leaving Knuckles feeling like a first-rate heel.

Tails didn't help. "You didn't have to be so harsh, Knuckles," he chided. "Sure we don't believe in Sonic's God, but that doesn't mean we have to ruin everything for him. He drove me crazy too, but it was kind of nice to see him so happy. He hasn't been that content in a long time."

"He needed to hear it," Knuckles replied softly, more to convince himself than Tails. It didn't work; he still felt awful. Him and his big mouth.

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog fell to his knees atop a large hill and clutched his heads as doubts and fears ran rampant.

_What if he's right? Am I just fooling myself? _

These thoughts and others like them whirled in his mind, tormenting him, and to his great horror a loud sob escaped his lips. He was so upset and confused, he couldn't think straight.

The only semi-coherent thought he could think of, he spoke aloud. "Pl-please, God," he managed between sobs. "G-give me peace."

Instantly, his mind seemed to clear and a supernatural peace setting upon his soul. Sonic sat there for a while, and simply enjoyed the feeling.

Then, he said aloud, "Since when do I care what the Knucklehead thinks? He thought Eggman was a good guy once. Seriously, he's one confused Echidna. I don't care at all what he believes. I know that God is real."

Feeling greatly reassured, Sonic rolled over to his back and placed his arms behind his head, closing his eyes. He hummed a tune that he was not familiar with, but which he enjoyed. For all he knew, he made it up on the spot, though that was not the case. Words came to his mind that he felt was greatly appropriate, and he softly began to sing.

"_I still believe in Your holiness_

_I still believe in Your truth_

_I still believe in Your Holy Word_

_Even when I do not see,_

_I still believe."_

Even as he was singing the song, Sonic felt something happening. It was as if he was running at top speed, yet he was standing still.

He didn't know it, but if anyone had been watching him, they would have seen a pure white light envelope his body, and when it dissipated, Sonic would have been gone.

All Sonic knew, is when he opened his eyes to see what was going on, he saw that he was lying down in a heavily wooded area, and there were horribly demonic-looking creatures surrounding him. He could honestly say they were the most horrific, deformed creatures he had ever seen, and they seemed to ooze darkness. The cobalt hedgehog could only gasp in shock at them, too shocked to even think about defending himself.

The creatures parted as their leader came through. Still stunned, Sonic's befogged brain recognized him as Mephiles, but hadn't he, Shadow, and Silver destroyed that monster? What was going on?!

Mephiles—for it was indeed him—inspected Sonic closely, looking at him coldly. "You are a servant of the King," he said, his voice dark and sinister.

"What?" was all Sonic could think of to say. King? The last time Sonic checked, he lived in America, and there were no kings that he knew of.

"I feel merciful today," Mephiles said, and the creatures around him snickered at the statement. Mephiles glared at them and they swiftly fell silent. "Recant your citizenship, recant your King, and you will be allowed to leave peacefully."

Sonic opened his mouth, but he couldn't do it. He honestly had no idea what Mephiles was talking about, yet his very soul was sickened at the thought of recanting…whatever it was Mephiles wanted him to recant. He somehow _knew _that recanting would be a horrible mistake, even if he didn't know why.

Mephiles glared at Sonic, seeing that the hedgehog was not intending to recant any time soon. "Very well then. I will _make _you recant. Take him away and lock him up with the other!"  
_'Other?' _Sonic thought as one of the creatures grabbed his arm. It was ice cold to the touch; Sonic shivered even as it led him away. It took him to some kind of encampment and stopped in front of a literal hole in the ground, with bars across the top. The creature lifted the bars and tossed Sonic unceremoniously inside.

"OW!!!" Sonic yelled as he hit the bottom. "Hey, pal, watch where you're shoving!" he called up to the creature, who simply laughed wickedly and walked away.

Sonic sighed, then froze as he heard a barely audible moan. The hedgehog looked around his dank new prison. He was far enough below ground that the light from the hole above him was barely capable of lighting the area, but he could see the faint outline of another prisoner nearby.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sonic asked, then mentally kicked himself. No, the guy wasn't alright. He was here, wasn't he?

Another moan was his only answer, and concerned, Sonic walked closer to the man. This close, he could see the man clearly, and his eyes widened as he _recognized _him.

"Shadow?!" Sonic gasped.

Tired, pain-filled crimson red eyes looked up at him wearily, showing no recognition. But the man in the cell with him was unmistakably Shadow the Hedgehog.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3—Escape **

**He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free.—Psalms 146:7**

**In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered me by setting me free.—Psalms 118:5**

**You never know what the future holds for you**

**But of all I have heard this one thing's true**

**Nothing can separate us from God's love**

**In our lives there is bound to come some pain**

**Surely as there are storms and falling rain**

**Just believe that the One who holds the storms**

**Will bring the sun**

**--**_**This Song is Meant for You**_**, Third Day**

* * *

Sonic was buzzing with questions, all of which were out his mouth practically before he'd fully formed them in his mind. "Where are we? How is Mephiles still alive? What's he mean, recant? What are we recanting? What are you doing here!?!"

Sonic still hadn't discovered that he was not in his dimension, or that this particular Shadow had never met him before and really had no idea who he was. He mistook Sonic's last question as well; he believed Sonic was asking him why he was in Mephiles' dungeon because he thought Shadow still served the Dark.

The ebony hedgehog lowered his eyes to the ground as regret clouded his features. "I no longer serve him," he said softly, barely above a whisper. "I now know the truth. Please forgive me."

Sonic's jaw dropped in absolute shock. He could handle Mephiles being alive and freaky creatures appearing out of nowhere and shoving him in a hole in the ground; but Shadow humbled and pleading forgiveness?!

"Uh…sure, OK," Sonic chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Is this about that ARK thing? Because you know I…"

Sonic stopped rambling as he saw Shadow's bewildered expression. It was then that the idea dawned on him that he might not be in Kansas anymore, in a manner of speaking.

"Uh…oh, man, I…I thought you were somebody else," Sonic said, his fur turning a deep crimson color. "Just…just forget I ever said anything. I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic stuck his hand out in a gesture of good will, but Shadow just stared at it, looking puzzled.

Feeling even more stupid, Sonic lowered his hand and sighed, plopping down on the ground next to Shadow. There was a long silence, until Sonic hesitantly spoke again. "So…what's your name?"

There was a long silence, then Shadow's labored voice replied, "Shadow."

"Oh. That's good." Instantly, he mentally kicked himself again. 'That's good?' Was that the only thing he could say? All hail Sonic, leader of those that shove their foot up their mouth!

Shadow did not reply however, and another greatly unpleasant silence followed until Sonic's desire to find out what the heck was going on overcame his feeling that he needed to shut up.

"Hey, uh, Shadow? You wouldn't happen to know why we're down here, would you?"

Shadow's body stiffened, and he looked at Sonic as if the blue hedgehog had grown another head. "You don't know?" he asked incredulously.

"Um, I got something about recanting and a King or something to that extent, but…" Sonic trailed off and shrugged.

Shadow's eyes widened considerably. "Have you been hiding in a cave for your entire life?" he asked.

Sonic blinked, then he grinned. "OK, we'll go with that," he said agreeably. If that was what it took to get some answers, he could live with that.

Shadow closed his eyes and sighed. "There has been a war going on in this land between the King and the dragon, Lucifer, for centuries, so long that none can remember a time when we were not fighting. But there are stories. They say that many years ago, when the world was still new, Lucifer had been one of the King's most trusted servants; an Angel. I've never seen one, but they say that Angels are the most beautiful of created creatures, and that Lucifer was the most beautiful of the Angels. He was the head of all the Angels; but it was not enough for him. He wanted the throne.

"Lucifer managed to incite a third of the Angels to rebel and try to take the throne for himself; that was the beginning of the First War. The King and his Loyal Angels defeated Lucifer, and as his punishment, Lucifer was banished forever to the outermost reasons, a horrible place filled with darkness and torment, and he was turned into a fearsome dragon. His Angels who rebelled with him were changed into twisted versions of themselves and were also cast out.

"Outraged at having lost, Lucifer vowed revenge. He looked upon the living creatures the King created and loved, and he tricked them, enslaving them to himself and assuring that they would also be cast into the outermost regions."

Sonic frowned. Why did this all sound so familiar to him? As if he'd heard it before, somewhere…

Shadow, not sensing Sonic's confusion, continued his narrative. "The King was not willing to allow those He loved to be sentenced to such a horrible place, however, and He sent His only Son, known throughout the world as the Prince of Peace, to come and show them the way to Him. Lucifer incited the people to kill the Prince; but that was what the King had planned. The Prince of Peace, through his blood, bought citizenship to the King's realm for all who would but ask for it; and the Prince himself had power over death, so after three days in the grave, he rose from the dead and returned to the King's realm."

Sonic suddenly went pale. He now knew where he'd heard this story before. It was the salvation message of Christianity! But…but how? Was it possible that perhaps…somehow, he knew that the King Shadow described and the God he served were one and the same.

Shadow finished his explanation by describing 'recanting,' to Sonic. "Lucifer, afterwards, twisted the story, making his own version where the King was an unjust tyrant, stating that victors always change history to favor them. He deceived many into siding with him…including me, for a time," Shadow looked down to the ground sadly. Then he continued, "Recanting is when a citizen of the King's realm denies that they are servants of the King, and state that they no longer wish to have anything to do with Him."

Sonic suddenly felt sick to his stomach. If what Shadow was saying was true, then if he had recanted like Mephiles asked, Sonic would have denied his faith. He wanted to throw up at the mere thought of it.

"Do you understand?" Shadow asked softly.

"Yeah," Sonic said, barely above a whisper. "Boy, am I glad I didn't recant!"

Shadow gave him another strange look, obviously wondering how it was possible that there was someone who didn't know about such things, then he simply sighed and laid his head back against the wall.

* * *

It had been two days since Sonic had been thrown into this dungeon; for Shadow it had been five. Mephiles had been _quite _adamant about getting them to recant; and the longer they refused, the more frustrated he got. The more frustrated Mephiles got, the more 'creative' his methods of persuasion became. Sonic was beginning to dread the sound of the bars atop their little hole begin to open. They were given no food, and the only way they got water was to sit with their mouths towards the barred opening whenever it rained, which was not often.

Sonic was starting to have trouble sitting erect, for his body ached with the repeated beatings Mephiles and his goons inflicted upon him. Shadow did not even try anymore, instead he simply lied upon the ground, too weak to even hold open his own eyes. Yet neither of them would recant.

Sonic heard noises above his head and braced himself for yet another torture session with Mephiles, but to his great relief, though Mephiles was indeed standing at the door to his prison, the Dark did not enter or order one of them to be drug out.

Instead, he seemed to be busy yelling at one of his lackeys, so loudly that Sonic could easily hear every word.

"An ARMY!?! You worthless dung heap, how could you allow the King's army to come so close to our position!? We don't have enough fighters to defend against an entire army!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, I just looked up one moment and they were right there," the hapless lackey stuttered.

Mephiles angrily drew his sword and slew the creature on the spot. Then he turned to another creature. "Start to pack up camp," he ordered. "I'm going to go see this army."

As the Dark stomped off, for the first time in two days Sonic felt a surge of hope.

* * *

Meanwhile, a half-hour's walk from the camp's position, a figure was kneeling on the ground, seeking confirmation for the task that had been asked. The figure was dressed in armor; but unlike the armor of Mephiles, which had been black as sin, this man was dressed in armor that was purer white than new fallen snow. His helmet covered his head and his visor was down so that one could not distinguish his features; a dagger-like short sword was sheathed in his waist belt. He was very small and slender, although agile. He whispered softly.

"My King, is this truly what you would have me do?" he asked, seemingly in great distress. He knelt there for a while, yet his orders from the King did not change. "Very well," he said finally. "Your will be done." Then he stood up and started walking towards the camp…

* * *

For twenty agonizing minutes all Sonic could hear were the sounds of tents being packed and frenzied creatures panicking as they desperately tried to outrace the King's army.

All of a sudden, a startled cry was heard. "The trumpets of the King's army! They are here!"

More cries of hearing the King's trumpets rang from around the camp. Sonic strained his ears, but no matter what, he could not hear them. He must be too far underground, and the trumpets too far away. He held his breath for a long, agonizing minute, then one of the creatures yelled.

"They are among us! To arms! To arms!"

Horrific sounds of battle started, as well as screams of pain and terror, and Sonic swiftly reached over and touched Shadow, gently shaking him awake.

Shadow moaned softly and opened his eyes, hearing the clamor in the camp above them. "What's…going on?" he asked wearily.

"The King's army is up there," Sonic said hurriedly. "They're fighting."

Shadow's eyes widened. "You're sure?"

Sonic nodded. "The bad guys have been screaming about it for at least ten minutes now."

Shadow struggled to get up, and Sonic helped him sit up and lean against the wall of the cell, and the two anxiously listened to the sounds of the battle above them. For a long time, it seemed, the sounds of battle raged, but suddenly, all was deathly quiet.

The two looked at each other worriedly. What was going on?

* * *

The figure in pure white armor paused to steel himself against what must surely happen when he showed himself to the dragon's horde. "Though He slays me, I will still follow," he whispered softly, closing his eyes, which were still hidden beneath his helmet, and stepping into view of the camp.

He gasped in shock as he saw signs of battle everywhere, and all the creatures of Mephiles' army lying dead upon the ground, yet no sign of any enemies anywhere. He suddenly grinned big as he realized what had happened; like in the legend about Gideon of Old; the King had caused a massive confusion come upon the dragon's army, making them see an enemy when there were none, and causing them to slay each other in their terror!

Laughing in triumph, the armored figure set about the task he had been commanded to do; he began to look for captives that must be freed. His eyes fell upon a barred hole in the ground; that would be an excellent place to stash prisoners.

Still grinning ear-to-ear, the armored figure started towards the makeshift cage…

* * *

Sonic's whole body stiffened as he heard the bars atop the cell began to be removed and he looked upward, half-fearful of who he might see coming down them. He sighed and let out a breath he hadn't been aware that he'd been holding as he saw that the person coming in wasn't Mephiles or one of his lackeys. Instead, it was a man in pure white armor, whose face was hidden inside his helmet.

The man descended down the ladder and turned to see the prisoners for the first time. His eyes fell upon Shadow and he gasped, instinctively drawing his sword, which glowed a bright white color.

Shadow lowered his head in shame. He felt he quite deserved the mistrust which the stranger showed him.

Sonic quickly stood up for his ebony-furred friend, quickly standing to his feet, ignoring the protesting of his aching body, and stepped in between Shadow and the stranger's sword.

"It's ok," he said. "He's a good guy now."

The stranger paused, then he removed his helmet. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw that he recognized this man.

In fact, it wasn't a _man _at all.

* * *

Amy Rose narrowed her eyes at Sonic and the green hues went back to Shadow, still full of mistrust. "You're sure that he is not trying to deceive us?" she asked.

Sonic's brain still wasn't working properly, so he simply gawked at Amy. Shadow simply looked up at her and quietly said, "Forgive me. I was wrong."

Amy's eyes softened considerably and she sheathed her sword. "I can see the dragon's collar is no longer upon you. Praise the King for opening your eyes."

Sonic wasn't sure what the dragon's collar was, but he wasn't keen on sticking around long enough to find out. "Can we go now?" he asked.

* * *

Mephiles stood upon the lookout post his minion had stated he'd seen the King's army from and looked out over the horizon, deeply puzzled. He saw no one. It wasn't possible for an army the size of the one his henchman had told him was marching towards them to simply disappear, unless…

Mephiles swore long and loud. That fool! The Dark swiftly turned and rushed back to his camp as fast as he was able to go. He froze when he saw the carnage his foolish army had inflicted upon themselves—colossal morons, killing each other because of foolish phantoms! Curse them all, they were idiots and empty-headed dunces!

A great fear came over his body as he saw the prison bars to his prisoner's cells tossed asunder, the hole open for any to come and go as they pleased. Swearing again, Mephiles rushed to the prison and looked inside.

The Dark one's eyes widened in undisguised horror. His prisoners were gone.

Lucifer would execute him for sure.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mephiles' former prisoners were resting themselves at a river bank. The water was pure as crystal, and Sonic for one was very glad to be able to rest and drink his fill, as well as eat various fruits that grew on trees along the riverfront.

"I didn't know that this place was here," Shadow said presently, looking around. He couldn't see how he could have missed the area, as he'd been patrolling near here for months, ever since Mephiles' army had been stationed here.

"It is a miraculous river," Amy replied. "The King himself has hidden it from the eyes of those who do not serve him. None who serve the darkness can see it. We will be safe here while you recover."

Shadow nodded and lay down on the soft grass, falling asleep instantaneously.

Sonic took a bite out of a large piece of fruit that tasted somewhat like watermelon. He chewed slowly and swallowed, and then he asked, "So…what happens now?"

Amy shook her head. "I only know that I was to take you here to allow you to heal. I'm sure the King will tell us what will happen next when we are able to handle it."

Sonic nodded, suddenly feeling immensely tired. He laid down on the bank near the river, curled up, and fell fast asleep.

* * *

Shadow awoke with the dawn and sat up, realizing that for the first time in a long time he no longer felt pain. His eyes widened and he checked his body. All the bruises and lacerations Mephiles had inflicted upon him were gone. He had not even scarred!

Shadow, dumbfounded, wondered what could have happened to achieve this feat. He did not know it, but the waters of this particular river had been bestowed with healing properties by the King Himself. The ebony hedgehog smiled to himself and stood, stretching his muscles, which amazingly weren't the slightest bit sore from sleeping on the ground.

Shadow looked around. Sonic was still sound asleep on the ground, muttering about something called 'power rings' while his legs twitched, as if he were running in his sleep. The cobalt creature was very strange, but in his own way he was an honorable man.

Shadow continued looking around, hoping to find his mysterious rescuer, the Lady Amy Rose. He found her sitting upon the shore, watching the river flowing quite intently. He frowned and quietly walked to her.

"Have you slept?" he asked quietly, startling her out of her muse. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"No," she admitted. "I've been…busy."

Shadow's frown deepened. "Have you been guarding us as we slept?" he asked. "I am awake now. I can protect us. You may sleep if you wish."

"No," Amy shook her head. "I told you, the river is protected. The enemy cannot find us here."

"Then why…" Shadow's sentence trailed off and his shoulders slumped. "You don't trust me," he said, his voice heavy with shame and hurt.

"What? No!" Amy shook her head quite adamantly. "The King Himself has deemed you sincere and trustworthy enough to free you from your slavery to the dragon and call you a citizen of his kingdom. Who am I to tell him he judged wrong?"

Shadow nodded, but his demeanor showed that he did not fully believe her. The shame of his past seemed to crush his spirit; he could not forgive himself and found it hard to believe others could.

Amy sighed and started to speak again, but Sonic had awoken and appeared between them at that moment.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" he asked, grinning.

"We wait upon the King for His orders," Amy replied.

Sonic seemed to deflate visibly. "_Wait_? Ugh. I hate waiting." Then he crossed his arms and plopped upon the ground, visibly sulking.

This increased Shadow's belief that Sonic was the strangest individual he'd ever met.

* * *

Mephiles the Dark was visibly trembling as he neared the pitch dark cave that Lucifer called his own. The dragon had personally called Mephiles to come to him; the Dark was certain that Lucifer was calling for his blood.

Mephiles finally stood before the cave, but did not enter. Only Lucifer was allowed to enter the cave; all others were forbidden.

The cave was so dark that one could not see anyone who was inside, although Mephiles knew that the dragon within could see all who came near. The Dark knelt fearfully.

"My liege, I come as you request," Mephiles said, his voice breaking in his terror.

The was a long silence, then, the coldest, cruelest voice one could ever imagine spoke up. "You have failed me," Lucifer said. His voice seemed to hiss like a snake's at times, at others it seemed to roar like a lion's.

Mephiles' heart seemed to still; Lucifer wished for his death after all. "Forgive me," he pleaded, though he knew the dragon forgave no one. "My army was decived."

"Fool," Lucifer snarled. "You think I care about those pathetic losers that followed you? There are thousands more like them. You failed to destroy the two citizens that were in your grasp!"

Mephiles' mind whirled. "Two pathetic creatures like them cannot possibly be a concern to a mighty one like you, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning," he said.

"Shut up! While I enjoy your shameless flattery, I am not in the mood," Lucifer snarled, and flames seemed to spring from the cave. Mephiles fell face down on the ground in sheer terror.

Lucifer continued to rant. "Should those two come to the realization of the destinies the King has for them, they will lead others to Him! And _those _converts will steal yet MORE of my slaves from me, and so on! By the time I have contained them, the damage to my kingdom will be so extensive it will have shaken the very gates of my realm!"

Mephiles said nothing; he feared Lucifer's wrath too much to incite it any further.

The dragon composed himself, then he continued, "I should kill you right now, but you are a most useful tool to me. Particularly where the black hedgehog is involved; you will be the best one to remind him of his past. Reminding one of his past is one of the best ways to keep one of the King's citizens from being productive. We will drown him in his own guilt so that he cannot complete the task the King sets for him."

"Yes, my lord," Mephiles replied, the assurance that he would not die beginning to give him back his courage. "You wish me force him to recant, then."

"That would be ideal; but it is not necessary," Lucifer replied. "I can allow him remain with the King, so long as he does not take any of my other slaves from me. Have him recant, shame him into silence, kill him, whatever you wish, but do _not _allow him to fulfill the King's commandments!"

"As you wish. And the other?"

Lucifer laughed. "The other. He is impatient. He foolishly believes that he controlled his own destiny, when he was as much my slave as any other. He still has not seen the full level of submission one must give the King in order to be productive. Should he mature into what the King wishes him to become, the damage he would do to me would be extensive; but with minor temptations and showing him how much of his will he must submit to be productive, I believe he will walk away from the King willingly. As with the other, have him recant, tempt him away, or kill him, I don't particularly care. Just _don't _let him fulfill the King's commandments!"

Mephiles nodded. "The warrior?" he asked.

Lucifer hissed. "She has already proved to be a thorn in my side I would very much like removed," he said. "Do whatever it takes to destroy her completely."

"As you wish," Mephiles said, getting up to leave.

"Oh, and Mephiles?"

Mephiles paused and turned back to the dragon. "Yes?"

"If you fail me again, your screams for mercy will be heard throughout the land. Your blood will stain the ground; I will kill you without mercy. Do you understand?"

Mephiles nodded. "I will not fail you a second time," he said, disappearing.

Lucifer chuckled as he watched Mephiles leave. "See that you don't," the dragon warned.


	4. Chapter 4

**For those who may not be aware, the emblems on Shadow, Sonic, and Amy's armor are highly symbolic. Revelation 5:5 uses a metaphor calling Jesus the Lion of Judah, John 1:29 uses another metaphor, stating that Jesus is the Lamb of God. In Revelation 1:16, when describing a vision John has of Jesus Christ, he states, 'In His right hand He held seven stars.' The stars symbolized the seven churches that were around at the time Revelation was written.**

* * *

**Chapter 4—Armed for Combat**

**Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes—Ephesians 6:10**

**Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…--Ephesians 6:13**

**Come on brother be strong**

**put the armor of God on**

**struggles not between flesh and blood**

**come on, put on, put on... the armor of God**

**--**_**Armor of God, **_**Fire Engine Red**

* * *

It was all Sonic could do to keep from banging his head against a tree somewhere. He wanted to move _now_, oh how he hated to wait! He'd rather go up against the whole enemy army by his lonesome than wait.

Shadow gave Sonic a disapproving glance as the latter started to nervously pace the area. "It's only been ten minutes," he chided. "Why don't you just sit down and rest?"

"I can't help it," Sonic moaned. "Standing still gives me the jitters."

"Patience is a virtue, Sonic," Amy reminded him gently.

Sonic smirked at her. "That doesn't mean impatience is a vice."

Shadow sighed. "Would you just sit down?" he asked, frustration heavy in his voice. This hedgehog was starting to drive him crazy!

Sonic gave a heavy sigh and plopped on the ground, sticking his knees under his chin and wrapping his arms around his legs. "I'm bored," he said after a short silence. "Bored, bored, bored."

Shadow clenched his teeth tightly and closed his eyes, his body trembling in barely controlled fury. Amy looked down to the ground, desperately trying to ignore Sonic, who continued to chant the word, 'bored.'

Finally, Sonic stated one 'bored' to many and Shadow snapped. "That's it!" Shadow yelled, pouncing on Sonic. "Would you shut your infernal mouth for three seconds!?!"

Sonic looked up at the enraged Shadow who was currently pinning him to the ground and grinned. Finally, something to do! With a huge smirk, Sonic opened his mouth and said, "Bored."

The next thing he knew, the two of them were having a rip-snorting good fight. They were really getting into it too, Shadow had Sonic's ear with one hand and his other hand was wrapped around the cobalt blue hedgehog's throat, while Sonic meanwhile had his hands prying Shadow's hand from his throat while simultaneously biting Shadow's arm repeatedly, when someone nearby cleared his own throat and they froze, looking up quickly. Sonic took the distraction to quickly punch Shadow in the head.

A large walrus was looking down at the two of them with raised eyebrows. Shadow blushed at being caught in his childish display of anger and quickly released Sonic, who sat up and stuck his tongue out at his rival, not ashamed of himself in the least.

"I see I might have come at a bad time," the walrus said, his voice thick with amusement.

Shadow turned even redder and looked to the ground. Sonic grinned and shrugged good-humoredly.

Amy, meanwhile, squealed with delight and pounced upon the walrus, giving him a huge hug. "Rotor!" she greeted him. "You're here! Wait, why are you here?"

Rotor laughed good-naturedly. "The King gave me a very odd request. He told me to create two suits of armor, with exact measurements, and forge two swords and bring them here today at this precise time. I suppose he knew I'd be needed to break up a rather interesting fight."

Sonic's grin grew sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. Rotor gave him a knowing glance, then he turned and took something out of his pack.

"Here," he said, handing something to Shadow. "Two suits of the King's special armor, as well as two very swords that were tailored to your needs." Rotor smiled. "The King Himself sent me the designs and measurements, and He's never missed the mark yet."

Then he handed a bundle to Sonic. Curious as to what could be inside, Sonic opened it up to see a suit of pure white armor similar to the one Amy was currently wearing. The only difference, besides it being slightly bigger to fit him, was an engraving of a lion standing on three paws and swiping at something with his fourth, his mouth open in a roar. The engraving was a golden color.

"Wow," Sonic whispered in awe.

Shadow had also opened his package, and was delicately fingering a pure white suit of armor, tracing a golden emblem of a lamb with his forepaws raised in the air and his head down as if he was preparing to charge forward.

"I don't deserve this," the ebony hedgehog whispered, trembling slightly at the thought of holding armor the King Himself had ordered made just for him.

"None of us deserve the gifts that the King graciously bestows upon us," Rotor replied. "The King gives you the armor because he wishes to do so, not because you deserve it."

Shadow nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the armor.

"And these are also for you two," Rotor took a couple of leather packages and picked up the one on the top, he turned to Sonic. "These are yours," he said, opening the package.

Inside were two small weapons that had were liked like two crescent-shaped blades overlapping each other. The blades on the bottom had been wrapped in a golden cloth, providing a handle. The blades not wrapped with cloth glowed a brilliant white. When Sonic gripped the handles, the blades were just bigger than his doubled up fists.

"This is the most unusual version of the Sword of the Spirit that I've ever been instructed to craft," Rotor said. "But the King's instructions were quite thorough. They resemble a weapon commonly known as deer horn knives; they are normally used on longer weapons such as spears, swords, broadswords, and other weapons used to attack at a safe distance. They are ideal for trapping an opponent's weapons in aid of tying up or breaking their weapons, disarming your opponent and other close combat situations. The greatest advantage they give you is that the deer horn knives seem to be an extension of your own hands, allowing them to be moved with great speed and precision."

Sonic picked up the weapons tested them out, soon discovering that with minor adjustments to his form, the weapons worked quite well with his style of fighting. He was even able to use his spin dash with no interference because the weapons were so small.

"These are awesome!" he said with a big grin.

Rotor turned to Shadow and presented him with the weapon in the second leather cloth. It was a two-edged sword. The blade, which was about 30 inches long, also glowed bright white, and the hilt looked as if it had been crafted from the purest gold.

"It's called an arming sword," Rotor explained. "It's typically used with a buckler or shield. It is a light, versatile weapon capable of both cut and thrust combat, and it has excellent balance. There are a variety of arming swords; this particular one is a single-handed double bladed sword designed more for cutting than thrusting."

Shadow reverently picked up the sword and went through a few combat moves with them. He was intimately familiar with swords; after a few strikes he nodded approvingly. "It's the most well-crafted blade I've ever used," he admitted.

Rotor nodded. "Of course it is; it's the King's own design for you," he replied, not an ounce of pride in his voice at having crafted it. "I suggest you both put on your armor, to familiarize yourselves with it. There are five pieces to the King's suits of armor; first is the Belt of Truth."

The two hedgehogs picked the piece on the top of their armors, which were pure white belts. The belts for each of them were exactly the same; for Truth is Truth; it cannot be changed. To do so would render it useless, for it would not be Truth any longer. The belt was wide, and white as snow.

The next piece was the Breastplate of Righteousness. Shadow's was strong and rigid; and seemed to be metallic, allowing him to stand his ground without fear in the heat of battle, while Sonic's seemed to be made out of a thick leather, to allow him greater movement and agility, without sacrificing his safety during battle, for the leather was so thick and tightly interweaved that it was as strong as any metal. The lion and the lamb were engraved on these pieces. Both of their breastplates were white as snow; and the emblems were golden.

Next came the shoes of peace; Shadow's were metallic in nature, and at the top of his feet, where his legs started the metal widened out, giving it the appearance of two separate pieces of armor. They ended just below his knees, and they were pure white. The top edges were gold.

Sonic literally got a pair of running shoes, exactly like his old ones, only the places where his old shoes were red the new ones were so white they seemed to shine, and the places on his old shoes that were a (considerably duller) white were a golden color. He even got a pair of golden fleeced socks. Taking a few laps up and down the river bank, he stated that the quality of his new shoes were a thousand times better than his old ones. And his socks didn't chafe his feet, either.

The next item was the Shield of Faith. Shadow's was a long triangular looking shield, widest at the top, that was pure white with golden edges. The middle of the shield showed the bucking lamb, and the engraving was golden.

Sonic expressed a very real concern about his own shield. "How can I fight with it and my swords? I need both hands to wield my weapons!"

Rotor laughed. "I told you, the King never makes mistakes. The design I was given took that into consideration."

Then he handed Sonic a pair of gloves that were a thousand times whiter than the ones he currently had. There was a golden circle in the middle of the outside of each glove.

"Uh…yeah, that doesn't much resemble a shield," Sonic critiqued as he put on the gloves.

"Touch the circles," Rotor instructed.

Sonic obeyed, and instantly a golden colored force-field looking thing appeared between his gloves. It was wide enough to cover most of his body; only the top of his head and the bottom of his feet weren't protected.

"That's cool," Sonic said, duly impressed.

"Touch the circles again to have the shield go into hibernation mode," Rotor told him.

Sonic touched the circles again and the force field vanished. "That's so cool," he said, grinning ear-to-ear. "That's so freakin' awesome!"

The next piece was the Helmet of Salvation. Both the helmets looked the same; they were pure white with a visor attached to protect one's face in the heat of battle.

"The last piece is the Sword of the Spirit," Rotor explained. "Here, it would be tiring if you had no places to sheath them."

He handed each of them sheaths for their weapons that attached to their belts. Shadow's looked as if it had been crafted from ivory with golden vines wrapping themselves all around it. Sonic's were two separate white leather pouches that fit on either side of his belt, with golden cloth weaved in the shape of a lightning bolt on both sides. They looked more like small money pouches than a place to stash one's weapons; and Rotor said that Sonic's weapons were so unique that no one seeing him for the first time would ever suspect he was armed.

Both hedgehogs were amazed and awestruck by their new armor, custom-made and even specialized for them.

"This had to have taken you weeks to make," Sonic said as he laced up his Shoes of Peace.

Rotor chuckled. "No longer than usual. I've never made two suits of armor that were exactly the same."

Sonic glanced over to where Amy was standing and saw Rotor's point; for Amy's armor was different than both Sonic's and Shadow's. Her Breastplate of Righteousness, while not form-fitting, was longer than Sonic's and Shadow's, ending between her thighs and knees, so that when her helmet was off and it was apparent she was female, one could see that it almost resembled a short dress. Around the top of her breastplate was golden, almost resembling a necklace. In the middle was the emblem of seven golden stars, three on the top, three on the bottom, and one in the middle. Her Belt of Truth was put on overtop her breastplate at her hips, it looked just like the other Belts of Truth. Her Shoes of Peace seemed to be white leather and were tight on her, going all the way up her legs and ending at the top of her legs. The sides of her shoes were gold. Her helmet looked the same as the boy's; her Sword of the Spirit resembled a short sword, about 15 inches, and it's sheath was pure white ivory with no gold on it anywhere. There was something missing, however.

"Hey, Ames," Sonic called. "Where's your shield of faith?"

Amy smiled at him and reached over to her back, pulling out her shield of faith, which honestly looked like a flatter version of Amy's Piko Piko hammer back in Sonic's dimension. The handle was pure white, the shield itself looked like two shields pressed on either side of the handle. The shields were gold around the edges and white in the middle. Unlike the Piko Piko, this was a shield, and as such it was used more to block blows than to attack.

"That's pretty neat," Sonic smirked. He should have known that the King would have figured out a way to let Amy keep her beloved hammer. As Rotor stated, he never missed the mark once.

Rotor gathered his now empty bags and turned to go. "May you use your gifts for the Glory of the King," he said. "Farewell."

"Farewell, Rotor," Amy replied, waving to the walrus until he was well out of sight.

The three of them stayed at the river for two more days, but the waiting wasn't nearly as hard on Sonic as it was before, what with all his new stuff to try out. He and Shadow often sparred with each other, so Sonic could become accustomed to fighting with his weapons and Shadow could get the hang of using a shield, as the ebony hedgehog had never had one before.

On the dawn of the third day, a dove appeared carrying a message signed with the King's seal, telling them that they should go to the town of Delphia. There was a training ground there and the King was sending them to help them develop their skills for the task he would soon set before them.

"It will take us a night and a day to reach Delphia, if we do not stop to rest," Amy told the others.

Shadow frowned. "We will have to move quickly. I don't doubt that Mephiles is still looking for us."

Sonic looked around. "Well, no use waiting around here," he said. "Let's go!"

Amy shook her head at his impatience. "Sonic, it would be more beneficial to rest until dawn so we will have the strength we need to make the journey before us."

Sonic sighed. "Oh," he said, his ears drooping. Then he perked up. "Hey, Shadow, wanna spar?"

Shadow shook his own head. "No, Sonic, the time should be spent _resting, _not sparring."

Sonic sighed again. "I'm bored," he said.

Shadow stiffened visibly. Then, he stood and closed his eyes. "My King," he said aloud. "Grant me the strength to put up with _that _man," he pointed accusingly at Sonic as he requested this.

Sonic frowned. "Was that a shot?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. When Shadow didn't reply, Sonic's eyes widened. "It was, wasn't it? Apologize!"

Shadow glared at Sonic and crossed his arms in defiance. Sonic jumped up.

"I mean it!" he yelled.

Amy instantly jumped in between the two of them. "What are you two doing?" she chided. "Do you think the King would be pleased to see two of his citizens bickering with each other like foolish children?"

The two males considered her words, then both visibly seemed to deflate.

"Forgive me," Shadow said quietly. "I acted foolishly."

"Don't worry," Sonic replied, his cobalt blue fur turning a deep crimson with shame. "I was a first rate jerk. I'm sorry."

Shadow nodded, his eyes firmly downward. "You are forgiven," he said softly.

Sonic grinned, not one to dwell on past faults. "Well, now that we're all friends again, how about we play a game to pass the time?"

Shadow closed his eyes, then sighed and nodded. "So long as it does not involve physical exertion," he conceded.

"It doesn't. I look for something and give you guys hints at what I see, and you two have to guess what I'm looking at!" Sonic replied, explaining the rules.

Amy giggled. "That sounds like fun!" she agreed.

Sonic's grin got bigger. "I'll go first then," he said, looking around. "I spy, with my little eye…"

Shadow's own eye raised at the words, but he said nothing and determined to enjoy the game while it lasted. They might not get to rest again for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5--Mephiles' First Attack**

**As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.—Psalms 27:17**

**Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.—Romans 15:7**

**Lean on me**

**When you're not strong**

**And I'll be your friend,**

**I'll help you carry on**

**For it won't be long**

**'Til I will need somebody**

**To lean on.**

**--**_**Lean on me, **_**DC Talk**

* * *

The dawn came, not quickly enough for Sonic's taste and perhaps too quickly for Shadow's, but it came just the same.

Sonic opened his eyes to the call of newly awakened birds, and he stood, taking a deep breath. Grinning ear-to-ear, he snuck over to the softly snoring Shadow and the slumbering Amy, cupped his hands over his muzzle, and screamed, "Rise and shine sleepyheads! Oh, yes it's a beautiful morning!"

Amy woke with a shriek and Shadow bolted straight up, his hand instinctively reaching to his sword, before he realized that it was just Sonic being Sonic. Shadow sighed loudly and let go of his sword, while Sonic grinned down at him.

"Wakey, wakey eggs and bacey, everybody! The river is rushing, the sun is shining, and the birds are birding. It's a great day to be alive!"

Shadow blinked. "Birding?"

Sonic frowned. "You ever park your new car under a telephone wire and you'll know what a bird birding is."

Shadow did not know what a car was, nor a telephone wire, so the image of a bird birding was mercifully lost upon him. He simply cocked his head with confusion and decided to forget the whole discussion.

Sonic, meanwhile, was practically bouncing with excitement at the thought of getting to go somewhere. At last, no more waiting! He was pretty much shoving his friends away from the protective river to start their journey.

The three walked along a wide trail for a long while, until suddenly it came to a crossroads. To the left the trail continued to be wide and promised easy going; to the right the trail was shockingly narrow, full of rocks and it went up a steep hill.

"Which way?" Sonic asked, really, really, really, hoping it wasn't the rocky steep narrow way.

"This way," Amy replied, starting up the—surprise, surprise—rocky steep narrow way.

"Of course it is," Sonic muttered, following her.

* * *

The trail was long, and incredibly rough going. Amy was in the front, Sonic was in the middle, and Shadow was following behind them. Sonic had traveled rough trails before; but this one seemed longer and harder than any he'd ever done, not to mention that with Amy in front of him he had to walk, as the trail was too narrow to pass her, and there was a sheer, impassible rock wall to his left, and a seemingly bottomless abyss to the right. He was quite literally trapped right were he was, which was _slowly _climbing up a steep, rocky mountain.

Pausing to wipe sweat from his brow—it was unbearably hot today—Sonic whistled. "Anyone mind if I take my hat off?" he asked, removing his helmet.

"Hat?" Amy asked, stopping. She twisted around slightly to see behind her. The pink hedgehog gasped and turned pale at the sight of Sonic removing his helmet. "No, Sonic!" she cried. "Don't remove your helmet! It's one of your most important defenses!"

"Defenses? Against what?" Sonic motioned around. "There's nobody up here to defend against!"

At that moment, a cheerful bird flew by and chose at that moment to start birding on top of Sonic's head. (In a matter of speaking.) The cobalt blue hedgehog stood there, mouth agape for a while, as Amy laughed at him.

"You see," she said. "_That's _why you never take off your helmet!"

Shadow, who had been grinning at the sight of a bird birding on Sonic's head, started to laugh hysterically at Amy's statement. It was the first time Sonic had heard Shadow laugh in _any _dimension, and while it was a pleasant change to see the black hedgehog amused, he did not appreciate his misfortune to be the source of amusement!

Sonic frowned, then he grinned, putting his helmet back on. "There," he said, looking up. "I'd like to see you try that again!" he challenged the rapidly disappearing bird, shaking his fist in mock anger.

The three started on their way again, and to their great relief the path widened further up and became easier to travel, although it was still very narrow. It also seemed to level out as well. By this time, it was growing dark and the three were tired; yet they knew there was no safe place to rest until they reached their destination. After a while, they reached the top of the mountain; the path went on, and a deep crevasse appeared on the left side of the path as well; although there was a broad plain just over the crevasse that seemed to be within jumping distance. This was an illusion; however. If one attempted to jump over to the plain, he would fall into the abyss and perish.

But none of those who currently traveled the road knew this.

* * *

Mephiles the dark watched them from the plain, hidden beneath some bushes so that his enemies could not see them. He could not attack them so long as they remained on the path they were walking; for he knew the truth about the crevasse and knew he could not cross it. He also knew that even if he _did _cross it, the combined might of the three would easily overcome him.

Mephiles looked to the sun, awaiting for the darkness that could hide him so he could start upon his first plan. He could not cross over to them.

He would trick them into falling into the abyss.

* * *

Shadow could not remember a time when he was more tired and exhausted than he was right now. He was barely awake; he had almost stumbled once but was able to catch himself. It was now so dark he could just barely make out the form of Sonic who was in front of him.

"Shadow."

Shadow's ears perked up at the sound. Was someone calling him? "What do you want?" he asked aloud.

"Huh?" Sonic's voice called back.

"Did you call my name?" Shadow asked.

"No, don't think so," Sonic replied.

Shadow frowned and fell into silence again.

"Shadow." The voice called again. It was deep and melodious, and this time, the trio all clearly heard it.

"Mephiles," Sonic whispered, his body trembling slightly. "That's Mephiles' voice."

"Keep moving," Amy said gently, knowing that memories of Mephiles' cruelties were still fresh in the minds of her companions. "He can't get us over here."

Slightly reassured, the trio continued to walk, while Mephiles' disembodied voice laughed.

"You think you are safe?" the Dark asked. "You surely know that it's a simple jump to the plain where I am. You are not safe. But I am not here to attack you…yet. Shadow, answer me. I wish to speak to you, my old friend."

Shadow refused to answer Mephiles, but his ears were pricked up to listen. That was all the answer Mephiles needed.

"The won't trust you, Shadow," he said, sounding sad and regretful. "You'll spend the rest of your life as an outcast. They'll spit on you, hate you. You know they will. The King is merciful, you know that now. But his citizens will never be able to trust you. They'll always despise you as their enemy."

Shadow froze, as Mephiles spoke very real fears that were deep in his heart. His body trembled violently, as if he were cold.

Sonic suddenly realized Shadow was no longer following him. "Shadow?" he called, turning and looking back.

Shadow didn't answer, he was looking across the crevasse where the plain was. Looking towards Mephiles; though he could not see him.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Shadow," Mephiles continued, sounding sympathetic. "Jump over the plain to me. You don't have to serve Lucifer if you don't want too. We'll run and hide in the mountains. They won't trust you, Shadow. None of them trust you."

"Shadow?" Sonic gently reached out and touched Shadow's arm, making the ebony hedgehog start.

"What?" he asked.

"Why aren't you still moving?" Amy asked, having also turned back to see what was wrong.

"I…what if he's right?" Shadow gulped back a lump that was forming deep within his throat. "No one will trust me. No one will have anything to do with me. Maybe I should jump over, and hide in the mountains, where I won't have to see the hate in their eyes, won't have to live with the fact that no one trusts me…" Shadow trailed off and took a step towards the crevasse.

Sonic yanked him back. "What are you doing? You can't listen to him! He's a liar, and a jerk and…a liar! There _are _citizens of the King who trust you, Shadow! Don't listen to him!"

"Name one," Shadow challenged, glaring at Sonic.

Sonic looked intently into his friends eyes. "I trust you," he said, letting go. "I trust you will make the right decision."

Shadow clutched his head and fell to his knees, sobbing. "I…I'm so scared," he admitted. "I've done horrible things, the most wicked things to them…how could I ever prove that I'm not a spy? That I won't turn on them? That…that I can be trusted?"

"You have armor given to you by the King, showing that He trusts you," Amy told him. "And you have two members of the King's army who trusts you enough to allow you to watch their backs while they travel."

"Yeah, Shadow, if that doesn't convince them you're trustworthy, they're seriously stupid," Sonic added.

Shadow simply shook his head, too upset to say anything.

"Shadow, we trust you," Sonic said pleadingly. "Please trust us when we tell you that nothing bad will happen when we get to where we're going. Nobody's going to turn on you. I've got your back, buddy. Anybody wants a piece of you has gotta go through me first. And I ain't ever met anyone I couldn't handle!" Then he paused and added, "Except Mephiles. But he caught me off-guard and he had a whole army of goons with him, so he doesn't count."

Amy sighed. "Shadow, I know the King's citizens. They will be happy that the King has opened your eyes. They will not hold your past against you. Please do not forsake the King's path for you now."

Shadow waited a few minutes to compose himself. Then he nodded. "You're right. I shouldn't have let Mephiles discourage me so," he said, standing up. "Let's go on."

* * *

Mephiles hissed in anger as Shadow continued to walk, instead of jumping to his death. Well, he wasn't the only one there. They all had weaknesses and secret fears, and if he exposed them, one of them was bound to jump. Now, who could he…

Mephiles' lime green eyes fell upon the girl, and a wicked glint came into them.

There was a delightful silence for a long time, then Mephiles' voice rang out over the plains again.

* * *

"Amy Rose, I know you," he said. This time, his voice was full of disgust. "You're a little loser, aren't you? You're so pathetic and weak! You can't do anything right, can you? I bet the King's ashamed to have such a horrible girl as a citizen! You'd better run away fast before your weakness puts your friends in danger!"

Amy turned unnaturally pale; and she paused slightly, glancing over to the plain.

Sonic reached up and grabbed her shoulder. "Don't listen to him," he told her. "You know he's full of apple butter."

Amy shook her head, tears springing in her eyes. "He's right, though," she said, sounding heartbroken. "I am so weak and useless. It would be better if I leave before you get hurt trying to protect me."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms. "Any person who can charge into a camp full of enemy soldiers to rescue two prisoners at the King's command is most certainly not weak or useless!"

Amy shook her head. "The King destroyed the army and freed you," she said. "I was just in the way."

"How can you say that?" Sonic asked. "Sure, the King defeated the army. But you didn't know that when you went into the camp! Yes, the King delivered us, and he used you to go into the camp and open our cage. I'd hardly call that useless."

"And you were the one who showed us were the river was," Shadow reminded her. "We couldn't have found it on our own. And weak as we were, we would not have survived the night anywhere else, where Mephiles could have found us," Shadow added.

"Amy, the King has already used you to do great things. He knows you're stronger than you think you are," Sonic said encouragingly. "Who are you going to believe? A King who has never lied and never will, or that bonehead who wouldn't know what the truth was if it bit him on the neck like a vampire?"

Amy, head bowed, thought about the things her friends were telling her. Then she smiled and turned around, hugging Sonic and squeezing Shadow's hand. (For she could not get past Sonic to hug Shadow because the trail was too narrow.)

"Thank you both! You're right," she said, happy again. "Let's keep going."

* * *

Mephiles was beginning to get frustrated. Twice he'd called to them, and twice he'd failed to cause one to jump. Well, there was still the blue hedgehog…

Third time's the charm, after all.

* * *

Sonic grit his teeth as Mephiles called his name through the darkness. _'Remember, Sonic, he's a liar. Don't listen to him,' _he mentally ordered himself as Mephiles began his tirade.

"Sonic, isn't this going a little _slow _for you? Isn't this path steep and hard to climb? There was a perfectly good, wide, easy way that took you to your destination further back, or didn't you see it? Why are you here, anyway? Is it because your _master_, the King, ordered you to go this way?"

Sonic paused, confused. _'What's he getting at?' _

"Everyone knows how proud and conceited you were! Sonic the Hedgehog, ruler of his _own _destiny! Nobody told you what to do! If you didn't want to go one way, you didn't go that way! But now…now the great hero is a lapdog for a King he's never even seen even prove exists! How can you live with yourself?"

Sonic suddenly turned red. Oh, man, Mephiles was talking about things he'd really rather not remember…and especially not have his new friends know about. He hoped the ground would open up and swallow him before anyone could hear more about his character—or better yet, open up and swallow Mephiles.

"Sonic?" It was Shadow's turn to gently touch Sonic as a reminder to keep moving.

Sonic gave Shadow a half-hearted grin. "I'm fine," he said, more to convince himself. "You, uh…you know you can't listen to anything that guy tells you."

Shadow frowned, but he nodded. Sonic took a deep breath and kept moving, but Mephiles was definitely starting to get to him.

"Doesn't it sicken you, being forced to do things you don't want to do? Or are you simply trying to use the all-powerful King to get what you want? You know he can tell that you're a fake follower. You're worse than I am; at least I am honest about myself!"

Sonic froze again; that was a low blow! "He's such a liar," he said, but he was beginning to worry lest there be a grain of truth in those statements. He really _had _been adamant that he ruled his own destiny; was…was it possible that maybe he…of course not…

Forget jumping to the plain; Sonic flat out wanted to jump into the _abyss_. He felt so ashamed of himself.

"I…he's a liar," he said, though his words sounded hollow to his ears. "I…I wouldn't…I mean, I might have until…that is…" Sonic closed his eyes and moaned loudly. "You guys must think I'm a total moron, letting something so stupid get to me!"

"It isn't stupid," Amy told him gently. "It's a real concern for you, what he's saying, so of course it's not stupid. But you don't have to worry, Sonic. The King knows your heart. He knows you follow Him out of devotion, not out of a desire to get things from Him."

Sonic laughed, a bitter sounding laugh. "You don't know me," he said, sounding disgusted. "What he said…I am like that. I've always been like that…"

"You _were _like that," Amy replied. "But now you're one of the King's citizens, and He changes His citizens from the inside. You're not the man you used to be."

Sonic sighed. "You're probably right. But I just…I mean, how can I be sure?"

"Sonic?" Shadow said softly. "Would the 'old' you have refused to recant for so long while he was being tortured by Mephiles?"

Sonic thought, then he perked up. "No!" he said, sounding pleased. "The old me would have held out for a while, but not nearly as long as I had too. The old me would have just recanted to get him off me. I guess I really AM different!" The cobalt blue hedgehog grinned, then he looked around. "What are we standing around here for? We'll never get to the town of what-did-you-call-it if we don't start moving!"

"Delphia, Sonic," Amy said, smiling, and the three started moving again.

* * *

Mephiles continued trying to goad them into jumping throughout the night, but he could only attack one at a time and the other two would help encourage the one under attack, so that none of them fell for Mephiles' trap.

It was a _very _long night, but eventually the sun began to appear over the horizon, and the three weary travelers were very happy to see their destination appear in the distance.

Mephiles cursed the rising sun with a vengeance as it showed that he had failed in his task. They were too strong when they were together; he could not take them out.

Perhaps it was time to change tactics. He would have to separate them, somehow. Then, when they were alone and weak, he would take them out. One. By. One.


	6. Chapter 6

**For the King's message in this chapter, the first line is from the Bible, in Hebrews 13:5 states that God spoke this to his people. The rest of the message is from a song sung by Tenth Avenue North called By Your Side. **

* * *

**Chapter 6—Mistakes**

"**The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'"—Luke 15:20**

**"…For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."—2 Chronicles 30:9**

**Daddy here I am again**

**Will you take me back tonight?**

**I went and made the world my friend**

**And it left me high and dry**

**I dragged Your name back through the mud**

**That You first found me in**

**Not worthy to be called Your son**

**Is this to be my end?**

**Daddy, here I am**

**Here I am again**

_**Prodigal, **_**Casting Crowns**

* * *

The three travelers were _quite _happy to enter the gates of the city of Delphia; they were welcomed by an armadillo dressed in his own version of the King's armor.

"Welcome," he said. "I'm Mighty the Armadillo."

"I'm Amy Rose," greeted Amy, as she was in front of the group. "These are my companions, Sonic and Shadow."

Mighty's eyes widened at the second name and he looked at Shadow intently. "_The _Shadow of whom reports have come to us? The one who so fiercely opposed the King?"

Shadow looked to the ground, nodding shamefully.

Mighty grinned. "Praise the King!" he cheered, reaching up and taking Shadow's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "Praise Him who can change the hearts of those most disinclined to believe in Him!"

Shadow was a little taken aback by the greeting, but it did help to soothe his fears of not being trusted by the King's citizens.

"Follow me," Mighty requested, motioning them to come with him. "This city has many narrow and crooked alleys, dead ends, and treacherous paths so that unless one has a map, it is quite easy to get lost. Therefore it is forbidden for citizens to leave the training grounds without a map, and NEVER after the dusk falls. It is much too dangerous then."

"Where are the training grounds?" Shadow asked curiously.

"Close to here," Mighty replied. "We'll be there soon. Wait until you see our Commander; he teaches us everything he knows about the King's ways, rules, and how to use the armor the King gives us. He's tough, but not cruel. He'll pull no punches with you; but he's a good man. He does what's in your best interest, even if it does hurt. And boy, sometimes it stings pretty good," he said the last part with a big grin, and a wink that did nothing to ease the nervousness Sonic was beginning to feel for the new commander.

_Commander, that's a guy who tells you what to do, right? Isn't the King enough for that? I didn't think I'd have to bend over backwards for OTHER people, too!_

The cobalt blue hedgehog frowned as he thought this, then his Belt of Truth and his Sword of the Spirit flashed quickly, so quickly the others couldn't see it. But Sonic did. And he somehow knew they were flashing because what he was thinking was not pleasing to the King; so he swiftly began to think about something else.

Mighty led them to a huge enclave, with a large training ground behind, so large that they could see various other people in King's armor dueling and partaking in other methods of training.

Mighty opened the door to the enclave and took them inside, and into a side room. A man was bent over writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Commander, I have the new recruits," Mighty said respectfully.

The Commander looked up and Sonic had to fight to keep from gasping at yet _another _familiar face.

The Commander was Pastor Jack.

* * *

Pastor…err, _Commander _Jack smiled warmly at the three and stood up, shaking each of their hands in turn. "Welcome," he said enthusiastically. "I'm Commander Jack. We've been expecting the three of you. Would you like a tour of our facilities before training begins?"

"Um, actually," Amy shuffled nervously. "We've traveled a long way without rest, so we were wondering if we could be allowed to sleep and recover for a little while before…" she trailed off and smiled sheepishly.

Commander Jack nodded understandingly. "Mighty, can you show these three to the quarters for the recruits so they can rest before training begins for them tomorrow morning?"

"Sure thing, Commander," Mighty said agreeably, saluting. "You guys come with me," he told the three hedgehogs. "The rooms are right down this hall."

Each hedgehog was given a room and were allowed to rest. And though it was just before noon, Sonic was personally so tired he was asleep before his head hit his pillow.

* * *

When Sonic awoke it was dark. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but it was probably just after midnight, for the night was pitch black, though the moon was shining, half-hidden behind a cloud. But Sonic wasn't interested in what time it was; he only knew that he was antsy and wanted to go on a run.

The hedgehog jumped out of his bed and started to rush down the enclave towards the entrance he remembered coming in, but he was stopped at the door by Mighty.

"Wait a minute, Sonic! You're not allowed to leave the enclave after dark," Mighty reminded him, blocking his path. "It's too dangerous, remember?"

Sonic hadn't remembered; his ears drooped as he sighed. "Oh, yeah," he said. "I forgot." He walked dejectedly back to his room and shut the door, going to the window and looking outside. It _seemed _bright enough to make everything out; and the road was wide and seemed to circle around the enclave. He was sure that if he stuck to the main road, he could go on a quick run and be perfectly safe. But he couldn't get out the door, and so he had to stay…

Sonic eyes happened to see that a thick vine was climbing up the enclave and past the window he was on; he could quite easily climb down. The thought didn't quite sit right with him; he felt a little nervous just thinking about it, like when you're debating whether you should sneak into the kitchen and take a cookie your mom told you not to eat. His armor also began glowing brightly, particularly his sword and belt.

But Sonic _really _wanted to go for a run, and what would it hurt? It's not like he was doing any thing wrong, he thought. After all, running wasn't a sin. That made him feel slightly better about what he was planning to do.

First things first, if he was going to sneak out he'd have to take off his armor, because the glow it was giving off could awaken somebody and he'd get in trouble for leaving. That thought scared him a little; and he debated with himself whether he was doing something wrong again, but he soothed his fears by thinking that he wasn't going to ditch the armor, just take it off for a little while, and then put it right back on.

His hands trembling slightly, and his heart thumping with the fear of getting caught, Sonic slowly took off his belt, then his swords in their pouches, then his breastplate and helmet. Finally, he pulled off his shoes and gloves. He was quite happy that he hadn't thrown away his old shoes; those would serve him nicely until he could get back.

Sonic took his armor and carefully tucked them under his bed where they wouldn't be seen but where they would be easily grabbed when he got back. Then, making absolutely sure no one saw him, he climbed down the vine and darted off down the street.

* * *

Sonic bit his lip as he ran; he didn't feel as happy and carefree as he usually did. In fact, he felt awful, as if he'd done something terrible.

_'But I didn't do anything wrong!' _he insisted in his mind. _'Running isn't wrong! All I did was go for a run! Maybe I'm not running fast enough so that's why I don't feel right.'_

So Sonic sped up, going faster and faster and faster. The moon fully darted behind a cloud so he could not see where he was going; but he did not slow down. He didn't even notice the darkness, he was so lost in the guilt that he could not outrun no matter how fast he went.

It was really only a matter of time before he tripped on something and fell. He was going so fast, however, that he skidded along the ground, scraping himself quite badly, and fell down a flight of stairs into a back alley, where he landed on something quite sharp which neatly sliced his leg open.

Sonic waited for awhile, out of breath and in considerable pain, and slowly hobbled to his feet. He was now absolutely certain he should not have gone out, and just wanted to get back to the emissary and lay down in his bed. It hurt to walk, with his leg as grievously wounded as it was. His leg was the worst injured, but he had numerous cuts, bruises, and scratches all over his body because of his fall and subsequent tumble. His whole body ached; and what's more he had lost all sense of what direction he'd been tossed in; but he thought he had come from the north, and so he headed in that direction.

It took him forty minutes to travel a path that he normally would zoom by in mere seconds, and what's worse, when he got to the end of the trail he moaned as he saw he'd reached a dead end. He would have to retrace his steps and go another way. But he wasn't even sure which way he'd come from, as there were hundreds of pathways and trails that looked precisely like the others all along the way. Sonic closed his eyes as he felt his face grow hot and feverish; thunder boomed in the distance and it began to rain. The rain made the pathways, covered in dirt as they were, muddy and insanely slippery, and Sonic kept slipping and falling into the mud until it coated his entire body. Finally, he gave up on trying to find his way back to the emissary and curled up in a pathetic heap inside a small box he found by the way.

"Sonic, you idiot," he muttered to himself, barely coherent. "You idiot!"

He thought he saw a snow white dove fly down and look at him before he fell into a delirious sleep, and then he remembered no more.

* * *

Shadow the Hedgehog woke with the rising sun, feeling much refreshed and vigorous. He sat up in his bed and stretched, then climbed out and looked outside his window. The dawn sun was very beautiful as it rose, and the rain from the night before left water along the grass blades of the enclave. The effect of the sun hitting the water droplets was so beautiful it took Shadow's breath away.

The hedgehog reluctantly tore his eyes away from the beautiful view and turned back to his bed. He froze with wonder at the sight of a white dove sitting calmly on his bed, cooing at him softly. When the dove saw him looking, the bird flew off of the bed and over to the doorway, cooing all the way.

Shadow opened the window pane and tried to coax the dove out that way, but the bird would have none of it. The dove evaded Shadow's grasp and kept flying over to his doorway, cooing louder each time. Finally Shadow decided to just give it what it wanted and opened the door to the hallway.

The dove flew out of the door and into the hallway, flying a short ways and then stopping, cooing softly as if to tell Shadow to hurry up and follow it. Greatly perplexed, Shadow curiously followed the dove down the hall until it stopped at Sonic's room. It flew just above the doorknob, pecking it with it's beak and cooing incessantly.

By now, Shadow was so stunned by the dove's actions that he didn't even think of denying it access to Sonic's room, besides if he knew Sonic the cobalt blue hedgehog would be quite delighted with the bird and would be cross at him if he didn't show him. So Shadow reached up and opened Sonic's door.

The first thing he noticed was that Sonic's room was empty, but he figured the blue hedgehog had gotten up before him, as he was a notoriously early riser. But the dove flew over to Sonic's bed and landed on the ground, peeking under the bed and cooing, then hopping to Shadow a few steps, then hopping back to the bed and sticking his head under it.

Wondering was going on in that crazy bird's head, Shadow got down on his knees and looked under Sonic's bed. He gasped and pulled out Sonic's armor, lying discarded under it.

Considerably pale, Shadow grabbed Sonic's belt, helmet, and one of his swords and rushed downstairs to where Amy, Mighty, and Commander Jack were all awake and having breakfast.

The worried hedgehog burst into the doors of the dining hall and said breathlessly, "I think Sonic's in trouble."

* * *

Sonic felt even worse today than he had when he'd passed out last night. Hid throat felt dry and scratchy, and his wounds, particularly his leg, felt inflamed and were probably infected. He coughed once and determined not to do so again; as his whole body burned from the sudden motion.

A movement caught his eyes and he looked up, and saw to his wonder a white dove flying just above him and cooing softly. The dove seemed to perk up softly and coo louder when he saw it; it flew to one of the many paths and waited there, cooing as if it wanted Sonic to follow it.

Sonic tried to stand but he was too weak and in too much pain. He shook his head slowly; his vision was starting to blur again. The hedgehog let out a hoarse, muffled sob and lowered his head to the ground.

The dove cooed softly and flew away, towards the enclave…

* * *

Commander Jack lost no time in sending out search parties, with each member armed with maps in case they got separated. Shadow was assigned to Mighty's party for the back roads, and Amy had been assigned to Jack looking along the main way. Unfortunately seeing the maps, Shadow's heart sank at ever finding his friend, for the city was huge and there were so many different back ways and byways and so many twists and turns, that they could look for years and never find him. They had already looked the better part of the day and dusk was coming on with no favorable reports on Sonic's whereabouts. They were taking to long, for if Sonic was injured or captured by Mephiles…Shadow didn't want to think about either of those possibilities.

Shadow was to the back of his group, when a small, familiar sound caught his ears: a dove's coo. Turning and looking behind him, he saw the same dove as he had that morning, fluttering along a passageway they had just passed. It was cooing softly, so softly that Shadow could just barely hear it.

"You were the one who showed me that Sonic was missing," Shadow whispered, and the dove cooed softly. "Do you know where he is?"

The dove seemed to nod, and then it took off down the alleyway.

Shadow was so desperate to keep up with the bird in this one last ditch effort to find Sonic that he forgot to call Mighty; he simply darted off after the bird. (Which meant Commander Jack's foresight in ensuring that _everyone _had a map to the city was well thought.)

Shadow rushed after the bird, who darted down so many side roads that Shadow began to loose count. After a time, the dove slowed down and landed on a large box; by this time the entire day had been spent looking for Sonic and the sun had disappeared, so the alleyway was quite dark again. Shadow took out a type of portable lamb that he'd been provided inside the enclave and turned it on.

"Sonic?" Shadow asked, seeing a still form inside the box. He shined his light inside the box and gasped in shock. The thing—he couldn't tell _what _it was—inside was covered in dried blood and dirt, and it's fur stuck in ragged patches and odd angles. There was simply no way it could ever be Sonic…

The creature looked up at the light, showing bloodshot green eyes that were bright with fever and full of animalistic terror.

"Sonic?" Shadow asked again, his doubt heavy in his voice.

The thing's eyes widened in shock. "Shadow!"

Shadow didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified, as the voice of the pathetic creature in front of him, while hoarse and frightened, was unmistakably Sonic's.

"Sonic…what…what happened?" Shadow asked, stepping towards his friend.

Sonic gave a horrified whimper and shrunk back into the box, sobbing pitifully and hiding his head under his hands. His body trembled with terror.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, fearing that perhaps one of the King's enemies—maybe Mephiles himself—had done this to Sonic and he was afraid they'd come back. "It's ok, I'm alone," he said reassuringly.

This only seemed to frighten Sonic all the more. "No…" he whimpered.

"What happened Sonic?" Shadow asked, desperate to know what had caused this.

Sonic's voice came back broken and full of terror. "'M sorry, sorry, don't be mad at me, please I'm sorry…"

"I'm not mad, Sonic," Shadow gasped, stunned that Sonic could ever think that. "Who did this?"

"I…climbed…down…vine…got lost…so sorry!" Sonic managed to sob.

Shadow stared at his friend in open-mouth shock. "You disobeyed the rule not to go out at night on _purpose_?!" he asked.

Sonic cringed at his voice and nodded pitifully.

"Nobody took you by surprise and kidnapped you? You _chose _to leave?"

His only answer was a choked sob.

Shadow wordlessly absorbed this new information; not sure whether he should be relieved or furious because of it. He finally decided neither reaction would be appropriate; for he couldn't very well be relieved to be finding Sonic in this condition, and as for getting angry at his leaving…Shadow greatly suspected the hedgehog had suffered enough for his actions and didn't need Shadow to jump down his throat.

"Sonic…" Shadow whispered softly and took a step towards the other hedgehog.

Sonic gave a terrified shriek and backed away from him, huddling into the box as far as he could. His eyes were bright with fever; Shadow strongly suspected he was delirious.

"I'm not mad, Sonic," Shadow said soothingly. "Come with me, let's go back."

Sonic shook his head fiercely. "Can't go back," he said, sounding panicked. "Not like this. Can't…"

Shadow bit his lip, if there was any doubt of it before it was gone, Sonic was clearly not thinking clearly. He probably _was _delirious.

"Sonic," Shadow made sure to keep his voice low and gentle, lest he frighten Sonic more and the other hedgehog attempt to run from him. "Sonic, you once told me you trusted me. Do you remember?"

Sonic blinked, frowning as he tried to remember. "I think so…" he finally muttered.

"Please trust me now," Shadow requested, holding out his hand for Sonic to take. "I promise I'll let nothing bad happen. OK?"

Sonic blinked several times. "OK," he whispered, reaching up and taking Shadow's hand. Shadow pulled him out of the box, then caught him quickly as Sonic passed out as he stood up.

The ebony hedgehog picked up his unconscious friend to take him back, then he looked over to where the dove was still sitting on the box cooing softly.

"Thank you," he whispered. The dove cooed a final time and flew off.

* * *

Sonic awoke in a bed, with Shadow, Amy, and Commander Jack looking down at him with worry. His wounds had been bandaged and he'd been washed off as well as could be, but his injuries were so numerous and the mud and grime had been so thoroughly rubbed into his fur that it could not all be taken out. His fur was missing in various places; in others it clumped together in messy heaps. He looked terrible; but now at least the hedgehog was in his right mind.

That was not much of a consolation to him.

Sonic moaned and ducked under his covers in shame, only to have them pulled down by Commander Jack.

"Sonic," the Commander called gently.

Sonic didn't answer, but his ears twitched forward to show he was listening.

"Sonic, why did you leave the enclave and go outside after dark? Did you not know it was forbidden?"

Sonic's face turned bright red. "I knew," he muttered.

"Yet you left anyway," Commander Jack stated.

Sonic nodded, his face firmly downcast.

"I see," Commander Jack stood. "And now what do you intend to do?"

"I…don't know," Sonic admitted. "I don't think the King would want me to stick around anymore."

Commander Jack cocked his head. "Why would you think that?"

"Because…I really blew it," Sonic replied. "I wouldn't want me to hang around anymore, that's for sure."

"I see," Commander Jack sat down again, looking thoughtful. "Sonic, how much do you know about the King?"

"I was just starting to learn before…" Sonic gulped and trailed off.

"I see," Commander Jack nodded. "When He walked among us, in order to redeem us, the Prince of Peace once gave a commandment that when someone wrongs us, we must forgive them no less than seventy times seven times."

"That's a lot of times," Sonic muttered.

"Yes," Commander Jack agreed. "If He holds us to such a high standard, what must he hold himself to? His forgiveness is infinite, if one experiences true repentance—asks for forgiveness with the intent of never doing that thing again—he will undoubtedly grant us pardon."

Sonic bit his lip, considering this. "You're sure?" he asked.

Commander Jack looked grave. "I was a _lot _like you when I was younger," he said simply.

Sonic laughed bitterly. "I doubt that."

"I was," Commander Jack replied. "I saw no use for some of the King's rules. I thought there was no harm in going outside and looking around after dark. So I did."

Sonic looked at the commander incredulously. "_You _snuck out after dark?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, but I got away with it," Jack replied. "So I continued to do it. Soon after, I started to disobey other rules the King set out. After a time, it became so easy to do I no longer felt guilt at doing those things."

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

Commander Jack grit his teeth and loosened his breastplate of righteousness, allowing Sonic to see beneath it. The hedgehog gasped in horror at multiple scars which surrounded the Commander's torso.

"The King's laws are there for a reason," Commander Jack stated simply. "One can _never _disobey them for long without harm or injury. It was only then, however, when I was at my lowest, did I call for mercy, and He granted it. He has forgiven me; but I will bear the scars of my disobedience forever. That is why it is best not to disobey; but all hope is not lost if one does."

"What do I do?" Sonic asked.

"Ask Him to forgive you and resolve not to disobey again," Commander Jack replied.

Sonic nodded and closed his eyes. Not sure how to begin, as he was still very new to all of this, he simply started. "I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell You I messed up royally, but I will anyway. I blew everything, I shouldn't have run off but I did. I'm really sorry and I won't do it again. Please forgive me."

As Sonic was still praying, the dove from earlier flew into the room and perched on his shoulder. It cooed, and a strong wind started to rush around the room. Sonic became bathed in a bright light; when it was over his wounds and the dirt and grime from the night before were gone. His missing fur had grown back and it was no longer matted. However, his leg which had been torn apart so seriously, retained a long, jagged scar that was easily seen.

Sonic finished his prayer and looked up, smiling happily. Then he frowned. "But…but what if I mess up again?" he whispered, sounding scared. "What if He decides I'm not worth the effort it takes to keep me around?"

The dove cooed loudly, causing Sonic to look over and notice a golden scroll in it's mouth. The dove flew to Sonic's hands and dropped the scroll inside. Confused, Sonic opened it and noticed the King's seal on it. This was what it read:

_Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you_

_And I'll be by your side_

_Whenever you fall _

_In the dead of night_

_Whenever you call_

_And please don't fight_

_These hands that are holding you_

_My hands are holding you._

Sonic read the scroll three times, scarcely believing them to be from the King Himself written to reassure him; he finally looked up to where the bird had been. "Can I keep…hey, where did the bird go?"

Nobody had seen the dove leave, but it was gone without a trace. Commander Jack just smiled knowingly.

"Come, we should let Sonic rest," he said, standing and starting to shoo everyone who wasn't Sonic out the door. "And _tomorrow_ we'll start your training for sure."

Amy giggled and allowed herself to be dragged out of the room; no longer concerned now that they were certain Sonic would be alright.

Shadow started to go as well, but Sonic called him back.

Turning to the blue hedgehog, Shadow asked, "What is it?"

"I…thanks, you know, for finding me and dragging me back here," Sonic replied.

Shadow nodded. "You would have done the same for me," he replied, walking out.

Sonic yawned and laid back into his pillow with his hands behind his head. "And thank You for taking me back," he whispered as he fell asleep.

Outside Sonic's window, the dove cooed softly.


	7. Chapter 7

**For those wishing to know such things, the Leviathan is in fact a Biblical creature. Check out Job 41 (whole chapter) for its description.**

* * *

**Chapter 7—Training**

**The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.—Proverbs 13:14**

**Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.—Proverbs 19:20**

**If we walk with the wise we will grow wise**

**If we walk in the light our path will be bright I know**

**There's someone who's already been where we must go**

**In the light of what they've learned we find**

**We will grow wise if we walk with the wise**

**--**_**Walk with the Wise, **_**Steven Curtis Chapman**

* * *

Shadow figured that it was a _very _good thing that the King's citizens in general and Commander Jack in particular were not holding grudges based on his past. If they had, he probably couldn't make it through the first day alive.

As it was, he might escape with his life. Barely.

The Commander was had determined to spar with each of them individually to see where there strengths lay, as well as weaknesses that needed to be worked on. In this way he could do the most helpful training to each of them. Shadow had agreed to go first.

Shadow had trained with a weapon most of his life; he was uncannily good with swords and hand-to-hand. He had never met one who could be his equal.

Commander Jack not only equaled him, the older man left him in the _dust._ What's more, Shadow strongly suspected that the Commander was holding back.

His swordsmanship aside, most of Shadow's trouble was with the Shield of Faith. Having never fought with a shield before, he kept forgetting to block with it, would sometimes forget that one must hold a shield during battle and drop it, and worse, this morning he had even forgotten to pick it up and take it outside to the training ground. (Commander Jack gave him such a long lecture he determined to never forget to bring his Shield again, after which the commander made him trek back to his room to get said shield.)

Right now, the two were sparring, and had been for roughly thirty minutes. It was hot out today; Shadow was very tired. He wearily blocked one of Commander Jack's blows and gave a weak parry, which the commander thrust aside easily with his shield, then followed with a flurry of attacks that Shadow was having trouble seeing them all. He had no time to counterattack, just dodge and block, over and over…

The next thing Shadow knew, Commander Jack had his sword mere inches away from his neck. Shadow lowered his weapon; he had lost.

"You're very good with a sword, Shadow," Commander Jack said. "But why aren't you using your shield?"

"I thought I was using it," Shadow protested weakly. "It's too heavy to put up in time to stop attacks coming that fast."

"Here," Commander Jack sheathed his sword and pushed Shadow's shield to an upright position, close to his body where the top ended just below his chin, protecting his neck and upper torso. "This is the best place to hold your shield. That protects your vital organs, and by moving your shield slightly you can protect your arms, head, and legs. It also lets more of your body support the weight, so your arm does not get as weary."

Shadow tried a few sword strokes. "It impedes my attack strength," he stated.

"It only does because you are not used to fighting with the weight of a shield," Commander Jack replied. "With practice you will get better. But right now, go inside and take a fifteen minute break, you look exhausted. After that, come back and run the obstical course until the dinner bell rings."  
Shadow sheathed his sword and hung his shield upon his back. He nodded and saluted smartly. "Yes, sir, commander," he said, turning and trudging back inside to rest for awhile.

Commander Jack turned to the other two new recruits. "Well," he said, rubbing his hands together, not the least bit winded from his and Shadow's fight. "Who's next?"

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog's fight with Commander Jack lasted roughly ten minutes.

Unlike Shadow, Sonic had no trouble activating his Shield of Faith; for one thing it was flat out cool in his opinion, and for another, after the ordeal he had had in which the King had accepted him back so readily, his Faith in the King was very strong for one who had obtained citizenship such a short time ago.

Sonic's trouble was with his swords. He was as accomplished a fighter as Shadow, but always before he relied on hand-to-hand and spin dashes, and he more often than naught resorted to using that and refusing to attack with his weapons, for some reason that confused Commander Jack, as the weapons were designed to take his fighting style into account.

The Commander's shield and skill were more than adequate to block Sonic's attacks, and the hedgehog soon wore himself down with repeated attacking. Commander Jack finally saw enough and used his shield to knock Sonic down in the middle of an attack, then he laid his sword atop his throat, proclaiming himself to be the winner.

"Sonic," he said, "Why do you not use your weapons? They are designed to help you fight. Had you used them, it would have been more difficult to beat you, because it would have been more dangerous for me to knock you down with my shield had you been armed."

Sonic bit his lip, his emerald green eyes showing uncertainty. Commander Jack had seen the look many times on those who had recently stumbled; Sonic was concerned about something but was unsure if he should question what he had been told.

"What do you want to tell me, Sonic?" he asked gently.

"Um…it's about the weapons," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't really…I mean, I don't like the thought of potentially…well, you know, 'fatally wounding' somebody. It's why I don't use weapons…or well, um, you know?"

"Ah," Commander Jack smiled, nodding. "That is an admirable trait; the King desires that in his followers. The Sword of the Spirit is not for flesh and blood, but against principalities, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Seeing Sonic's lost expression, Amy reached over and whispered, "You're only supposed to use the Sword of the Spirit on Lucifer and his Fallen Angels."

Sonic's face lit up with understanding. "Oh, ok, I get it!" he said. "So I'm not supposed to kill people with them?"

"No," Commander Jack replied. "In fact, one of the King's laws forbids killing people. Only demonic forces are to be fought with your weapons."

Sonic sighed with relief. "That's good," he said.

Commander Jack chuckled. "Now, go rest for fifteen minutes and then join Shadow on the obstacle course."

"You got it, it'll be a snap," Sonic gave a thumbs up and jogged back inside.

Commander Jack turned to Amy. "Alright, Rose," he said good-humoredly. "Let's see what you got."

* * *

Amy Rose was the best at remembering to use all her equipment, probably because she had spent more time with her armor, and so had learned more than either of her companions.

Amy parried a blow from Commander Jack's sword and shoved him back with her shield, while thrusting with her weapon. The commander blocked the attack with his own shield, using it to break her momentum. The two paused for a second, then they were going right back at it again.

It was about this time that Sonic's 15 minutes were up, so he raced outside to where Shadow was hard at work on the obstacle course. He paused for a moment to watch Amy and the Commander spar, then he quickly walked to the entrance.

Sonic had never actually been on an obstacle course, but he remembered watching guys run them on those Army Marine commercials back in his dimension, and it seemed easy enough. After all, how hard could it be?

He soon found out as he tried to climb up a thick wood wall using a rope. Nothing could match Sonic's leg strength, but he soon found that was not true for his arms. He made it perhaps half-way when his arms gave out and he fell on his back.

"OW!!!" he yelled.

Sonic's cry was more from being startled than from any pain or injury; but his yelp caused Amy to stop paying attention to her opponent to look over and see if he was alright.

The next thing she knew, Commander Jack's sword was at her throat, signaling the end of their match.

"You're a well-rounded fighter," Commander Jack said, sheathing his weapon. "But you're easily distracted. Concern for your friends is a good thing, but when you're in a battle the best way to help them is to dispatch your opponent before you check up on them, so he doesn't kill you while you're distracted."

"Yes sir," Amy said, blushing. "I understand."

"You did well," Commander Jack said again. "Now go ahead and take a fifteen minute break, then join the others on the obstacle course, alright?"

"Alright," Amy said, perking up as she walked inside.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Amy came back out to see Sonic still trying to climb up the rope while Shadow stood behind him, arms crossed impatiently.

"Hello, Shadow," Amy said, stepping behind him and watching Sonic struggle with the rope. "Haven't you gone through the course yet?"

"I've completed it twice," Shadow replied, his eyes not leaving Sonic, who had finally gotten high enough to touch the top of the wood with the tips of his fingers and was trying to pull himself up so he could crawl over and drop down the other side. "Then Sonic came outside and I've been waiting for him to get past the first obstacle so I can go again ever since."

"A little…help…wouldn't hurt," Sonic huffed as he finally managed to pull enough of his body up to rest his chin atop the wood. He rested in that rather awkward position for a second, then continued to pull himself up.

"You're doing fine," Shadow said, smirking a little.

Sonic didn't reply, as he was too busy getting his leg over the wood. He did so and lost his balance, falling off the wood and onto the ground on the opposite side.

"Ow," he muttered.

"See?" Shadow's smirk got a little bigger as he grabbed the rope, scaled the wall with the grace of a chimpanzee, and dropped gracefully to his feet on the other side, all in the time it took Sonic to stand up and brush himself off.

Sonic glared at him. "Showoff," he muttered. Then his jaw dropped as Amy matched Shadow's skill on the rope, although she climbed down the other end instead of jumping.

Amy let go of the rope once her feet safely touched the ground and she turned to a dumbfounded Sonic. "What?" she asked. Receiving no answer, she continued, "We should keep moving," and walked past him, Shadow right behind her.

"…I'm still faster than the two of them combined," Sonic whispered to salvage some greatly-wounded pride, then he hurried after them to get to the second obstacle.

* * *

Mephiles was back at Lucifer's cave. And the dragon was not happy with his progress. Not one bit.

"You failed, Mephiles," hissed Lucifer's voice from the dark recesses of his cave.

Mephiles was bowed low, considerably worried for his own well-being. "I have just barely begun, my lord," he protested weakly. "I can break them if I am given the time."

"Somehow, considering your recent track record of failures, I find that hard to believe," Lucifer said dryly.

"My master, it will not be long now. The blue one has been scarred, as you surely know, and—"

"Of course I know the blue one is scarred, you dunce!" Lucifer snapped, cutting him off. "And I also know that _you _had nothing to do with that. It was his own will that put that scar upon him; you were off hiding like the incompetent moron you are!"

Mephiles flinched and said nothing. This certainly did not bode well for him.

"I've had it with your bungling—no more! You!"

The demonic creature who was behind Mephiles shrieked a bit at the dragon's call and tremblingly stepped forward.

"Unleash the Leviathan on the town nearest Delphia that is not under the King's direct protection."

The creature, still trembling violently, turned and dashed away from the cave. Mephiles looked into the darkness where Lucifer was and shuddered.

"What are you planning, O bright morning star?" Mephiles asked, rather kiss-upishly.

"Oh, shut up," Lucifer replied. "If I wasn't in such a good mood I'd kill you on the spot for daring to speak up now, as I'm sick of hearing your sniveling voice. But as it is, I intend to unleash the Leviathan on one of the simple-minded towns who foolishly believe that since they live so close to one of the King's training camps I can't hurt them like they aren't mine to do with as they please—for they are, as few, if any, are the King's citizens."

As Lucifer chuckled at the thought of the destruction the Leviathan would cause, Mephiles wisely kept his mouth shut, even though he still did not understand what Lucifer was planning.

Luckily for Mephiles, Lucifer was very proud, and loved to brag about his own cunning. The Dark one had not long to wait before his dragon master continued to explain.

"Of course my three hedgehog problems will race to rescue the townsfolk—along with others in the King's army, I should hope, the more the merrier—will rush to stop Leviathan, and he will crush them."

Mephiles' eyes widened. He understood now, but there was still one thing bothering him. Quite forgetting the fact that Lucifer was displeased with him, he gasped, "Master, sending the Leviathan out to destroy three little hedgehogs? Isn't that overkill?"

The dragon's cruel laugh echoed from the cave, sending chills down Mephiles' laugh.

"For me, Mephiles," Lucifer replied, "There _is _no such thing as overkill."

* * *

Three days passed uneventfully for the three hedgehogs while they trained. During all that time, the most exciting thing that happened was when Sonic realized he had shortened his wall-climbing time from thirty minutes to fifteen minutes. That wasn't bad for a mere three days of training. But the fact that Sonic considered shortening his time on that wood wall thing to be the most exciting thing that happened in three days only went to prove that it had been a very boring three days indeed.

There was something to be said for boring: it wasn't dangerous. But, like everything else in this life, the boring, danger-free days of training were meant to pass.

They passed rather swiftly, in fact, as early in the morning on the fourth day, someone started to pound on the door of the enclave fiercely. Mighty and Commander Jack opened the doors to see an exhausted and terrified mink collapse to the ground.

Mighty bent down quickly and looked up to Commander Jack in shock. "I recognize this man," he said. "He's a merchant from Ladea; he sometime sells his wares in the town square here."

Commander Jack frowned; Ladea was a mere ten miles away. Although they were neighbors, Ladea's townspeople did not serve the King like Delphia's citizens did.

"You must help us," the merchant pleaded, gasping for breath. "The Leviathan…" That was all he said before he slumped, passed out cold on the floor.

Commander Jack lost no time at all. He ordered Mighty to take the merchant to the hospital and then come right back. While the armadillo was gone, the commander gathered together all the recruits.

* * *

"Our neighboring town has come under the attack of the Leviathan," Commander Jack explained after everyone was assembled. "I need volunteers who will come with me to fight it."

There were fevered murmurs in the crowd, and some nervous shuffles. Commander Jack looked sympathetic. "I understand your fear. Leviathan is one of the dragon's most dangerous creatures. But I will need help to defeat it. Is anyone willing to come with me?"

There was a long silence in which no one answered, but finally Shadow emerged from the recruits and stood next to the commander. He was followed closely by Sonic, who had no idea what the Leviathan was and therefore wasn't all that scared of it.

"Thank you," Commander Jack told them. Then he looked back to the crowd. "Does anyone else wish to go?"

Mighty quickly made his way to the other volunteers, followed by Amy after a slight pause. No one else stepped forward.

Commander Jack looked to the ones who hadn't stepped forward and said, "I want you all to know that I do not think any less of you." Then he and his four volunteers quickly left to stop the Leviathan.

* * *

It took them an hour to reach Ladea, and when they got there the Leviathan was nowhere to be seen. The town itself was in ruins, parts were on fire and the rest was mere rubble, so one would never suspect that there had been a thriving town there mere hours ago. Survivors of the attack were walking around the ruins, looking shocked and dazed.

The five of them started to find all of Ladea's citizens in order to take them back to Delphia where they'd be safe. Sonic had scarcely been at it for five minutes when he found a rabbit he knew quite well sobbing in the ruins of her home.

"Vanilla?" Sonic said, turning pale. She was all alone, so where was…

"It took her!" Vanilla suddenly shrieked when she saw him. "The Leviathan took my daughter! Help me!"

"Oh, no!" Sonic gasped. That Leviathan thingy had Cream! He had to go save her!

Without pausing to think, because he wasn't really thinking anyway at that moment, Sonic took off in the direction Vanilla had hysterically pointed out to be the way the Leviathan went.

It was pure chance that Shadow happened to look up in time to see Sonic rush off. "Sonic!" he yelled, taking off after him.

* * *

Sonic was running on pure adrenaline and instinct, desperate to save this dimension's Cream from the Leviathan, whatever it was. He wasn't sure, but he _had _noticed Shadow shudder when Commander Jack mentioned it for the first time. And he knew one thing for sure: In his dimension, (and probably in this one as well) if something could make _Shadow the Hedgehog_ shudder, then it was probably bad news.

He had just rounded a turn when something grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. Startled and more than a bit freaked, he instinctively struck out with his other hand, only for it to be caught by Shadow, who was holding him back angrily.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Shadow snapped.

"The Leviathan kidnapped a little girl," Sonic explained breathlessly. "I gotta save her!"

"You can't go after the Leviathan by yourself!" Shadow yelled.

"Why not?" Sonic asked.

Shadow opened his mouth to answer, his eyes narrowed in anger, but he said nothing. His eyes widened in shock and absolute horror, (something that really creeped Sonic out to no end) and suddenly Sonic felt something breathing down his neck.

The cobalt blue hedgehog whirled around to see a giant… thing… behind him. It was type of dragon, with bright orange eyes and scales that were so close together air couldn't have passed between them, forming a natural shield around its body. His chest had thick skin that was as hard as solid rock. Smoke poured from its nostrils as it breathed. It opened its mouth to show rows of very sharp (and Sonic didn't doubt very painful) teeth. It flung it's head back and roared, and fire escaped it's jaws. It was so fearsome it made Godzilla look like Barney the Dinosaur.

"The Leviathan," Shadow whispered in fear.

Sonic was starting to realize why he couldn't go after the Leviathan alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**The description of the Angel Sonic sees can be found in Daniel 10:5-6, so I'm not making that up. The Angel's speech has several different Bible verses in it, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Psalms 105:14-15, Jude 1:9, Isaiah 41:12-13, and Jeremiah 17:7 are all used. For some reason, I used the New King James Version instead of the New International Version.**

* * *

**Chapter 8—The Leviathan**

**Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature without fear.—Job 41:33**

**In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great, and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent, he will slay the monster of the sea.—Isaiah 27:1**

**You are my Shield, my Strength,**

**My Portion Deliverer**

**My Shelter, Strong Tower**

**My very present help in time of need**

--_**Made Me Glad, **_**Hillsong**

* * *

Sonic and the Leviathan stared at each other for a long, agonizing second. Sonic found himself wondering if he'd ever fought anything as fierce-looking as this creature. He was sure he must have; he just couldn't remember any instances right now.

Then the Leviathan opened his mouth and Sonic saw literal flame pour from its mouth; and almost instinctively he started running to dodge it. Still running on instinct, he curled up into a spin dash and tackled it right at the back of its neck. He bounced off like he he'd tackled rubber. Dazed, he shook his head and had just enough presence of mind to cringe as the monster turned to him and took a breath. Red hot flame shot from its mouth; to be deflected at the last moment by Shadow's Shield. The ebony hedgehog had stepped between the Leviathan and Sonic.

"Sonic, get up!" Shadow yelled, feeling his knees buckle against the weight of his shield and the intense heat of the flame.

Sonic was on his feet in a moment, smoothly unsheathing his weapons and looking at the Leviathan for any potential weak spots. Finding none, he decided that the best thing to do was just attack it anywhere and hope to distract it enough for Shadow to get away. The ebony hedgehog wouldn't be able to hold the dragon's flame at bay for long.

Sonic rushed to the Leviathan and tackled it's leg. His eyes widened as he saw his blades weren't even leaving faint scratches on the beast. However, they did seem to annoy it; it stopped attacking Shadow and turned to Sonic, glaring at him ruefully. Sonic suddenly got the impression that he needed to stop attacking and activate his shield, and _fast._

In a lightning quick motion, Sonic touched the yellow circlets on his gloves and his Shield of Faith crackled to life—and even though he'd moved faster than he could ever remember moving, it almost proved too slow. With a grace and speed that seemed to defy all manner of logic, the Leviathan flicked it's tail, which smacked the barely-raised Shield with such force that it sent Sonic flying backwards.

An old scientific statement declares that a body in motion stays in motion unless halted by an outside force—and in this case, said outside force happened to be a rather large tree, which had been minding it's own business when a blue hedgehog flew into it with such force it cracked slightly.

Sonic's breath was stolen from the impact. In fact, he didn't breathe for five full seconds. He certainly didn't move, which was probably not a good thing seeing that the Leviathan was still eying him as if debating if it should finish him off.

It decided not to, however, because Shadow had recovered and had started to attack it with his own blade. The Leviathan growled and tensed to bat Shadow with it's tail, but the hedgehog had been waiting for it to do so, and managed to dodge out of range before the Leviathan finished preparing for it's attack. Therefore the swinging tail missed him, and the instant it had discharged it's energy, Shadow was back on it, desperately attacking and hoping to find a weak point.

* * *

All this happened so fast that at this point, Sonic was just now remembering how to breath, and the idea that he should get up and help still hadn't entered his rather befuddled mind. He wasn't thinking much of anything except the fact that he needed air and wasn't getting it. He took a ragged gasp, then another, then it regulated somewhat and he started trying to remember what he'd been doing that could make him forget how to breath.

* * *

Shadow, meanwhile, rolled to the side as the Leviathan heaved a breath of flame at him, growing frustrated at it's inability to hit the hedgehog. Shadow jumped up out of his roll and attacked the Leviathan's forepaws with his sword. That gave the monster the opportunity to swat him away with said forepaw like one would swat a pesky fly.

Shadow went sailing in a way Sonic had previously; and his momentum was stopped by a different tree, which had to have seen what had happened with his tree counterpart, but was too foolish to get out of the way. The impact had the duel effect of allowing Sonic to remember what he had been doing, and causing Shadow to temporarily forget how to breath.

* * *

Sonic jumped up and rushed towards the Leviathan, who was really not at all amused by the whole ordeal, and picked a spot, right below the neckline, and determined to spindash that spot over and over with his weapons out, and (hopefully) wear the area down until he could hurt the darned thing.

This created a rather bizarre effect of Sonic running around and around the Leviathan repeatedly, far enough away that the monster couldn't attack him very well, and occasionally charging into it in a spin dash, with his weapons positioned in such a way that they did just as much (if not more) damage than his quills.

Or rather, they would have, if any damage was being done. Instead, whenever he tackled the beast, it would make a noise as if it were chuckling, as if the feeling of a hedgehog with razor-sharp quills and deadly weapons repeatedly attacking his neck tickled.…Not the reaction Sonic had been hoping for, but it was impeding the Leviathan's attack, so OK. Beggars can't be choosers.

The Leviathan finally tired of Sonic's attacks and started to study his movements. It detected a faint pattern; it raised its paw and struck just as Sonic homed in and attack. Sonic gave a muffled cry as he was sent flying _again_. This time he landed atop Shadow, who had just remembered what he'd been doing and had been standing up to go help. The impact of Sonic's body knocked him off his feet and the two of them fell in a mangled heap.

The Leviathan thought that this was very amusing, but it also wished to end this fight. It growled menacingly and stomped towards the two dazed hedgehogs, its arm raised to destroy them.

It's aim was thrown off, however, by a Shield that was strikingly similar to a Piko Piko hammer being smashed upside its head.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!" Amy Rose screamed, unsheathing her short sword and jabbing the Leviathan with it. When her weapon failed to penetrate it's hide, she resorted to beating it's head with her Shield again.

* * *

The Leviathan snarled. The two males' attempts to stop it had been amusing, but _this _one was giving it a headache. It twisted it's body around and snapped at her, just barely missing her. Had he clamped his mouth shut around her he would have broken her with the ease of one breaking a toothpick. Amy responded by hitting it on the head again.

* * *

Sonic suddenly became aware of strong arms grabbing him and yanking him to his feet. He looked up in bewilderment, to see a grim-faced Mighty Armadillo holding him. "Come on, Sonic," he said, clenching his teeth. "Work with me here, you're not exactly light."

If Sonic had been functioning enough to process the statement correctly, he would have taken offense at the remark. As it was, it took every ounce of his mental abilities just to force his legs to sort of half-way move in the general direction Mighty wanted him to go. Behind them, Commander Jack was helping Shadow come away from the beast's wrath, as well.

"We're…OK…" Shadow managed to huff. A startled cry for help caused the rescuers to pause; the Leviathan had managed to buck Amy off it's back and was now charging her, bent on revenge. Without hesitating, Commander Jack set Shadow down and charged the monster, drawing it away from Amy.

"Commander!" Mighty cried, also letting go of Sonic and rushing to help his commanding officer.

"Mighty, get out of here," Commander Jack yelled, effortlessly moving his Shield of Faith to block the Leviathan's flame attack.

"I'm not leaving you, Commander," Mighty replied, his weapon drawn as he started to attack the Leviathan's flank. "So don't even ask!"

By now, to their great relief, Sonic and Shadow's bodies started to respond to their commands again. The two stood (rather shakily, I might add) and stubbornly returned to the fight, unwilling to leaving their comrades hanging.

* * *

The Leviathan was beyond furious at this point. Now it had _more _nuisances to worry about and—more frustrating than anything else—that girl was starting to his it in the head again!

The monster screamed it's defiance to the heavens and swirled in such a way that it's tail seemed to attack all directions at once, too fast for any to evade it. The Leviathan's attackers were all hurled in different directions. This was pleasing to it; particularly because no further nuisances showed up to attack it afterwards. It now had time to dispose of these pests at it's pleasure.

It decided on the blue hedgehog first; as he had dared to be the first to defy it.

* * *

Sonic looked up to see the Leviathan casually saunter over to him, bloodlust in its eyes. He was still dazed; his legs didn't seem to want to work. His blood seemed to freeze and terror overwhelmed him as he saw the beast coming ever closer. Almost without thinking, he prayed aloud, "My King, save me!"

The Leviathan charged, but was suddenly thrust back by a man dressed in linen, with a belt of finest gold about his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, and his arms and legs gleamed like burnished bronze. What's more, he had not been there a fraction of a second ago; he had literally shown up out of nowhere and had halted the charging Leviathan with the ease that defied description.

It would be a close call to see who was more stunned at the appearance; Sonic or the Leviathan. The dragon paused and seemed to stare right through the man; as though it didn't realize he was there. It roared in anger and charged again. Again, the man pushed it back as if the raging beast were inconsequential.

Then the man spoke, and his voice carried the sound of a multitude. **"Beast, dost though not know it is written of the LORD Most High, He permitted no one to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, _"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm." _Art thou not aware that He has anointed this one, set His seal of ownership on this one, and put His Spirit in this one's heart as a deposit? The LORD rebuke you!"**

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the Leviathan screamed, a scream of terror and agony, and if fell to the ground, dead. For a fraction of a second, Sonic thought he could see a flaming sword, taller than a mountain, embedded in it's back, but he blinked and it was gone. There were no wounds on the Leviathan where a sword would have entered; so perhaps he had imagined it…but still…

The man turned to Sonic and stared into his eyes. **"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the LORD," he said, taking Sonic's hand and pulling him to his feet. "So arise, tremble no more; for hast not the LORD thy God said, 'You shall seek them and not find them—those who contend with you. Those that war with you shall be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.' The LORD thy God hast surely told thee, 'Fear not, I will help you.' So lift up thy head and go forth boldly."**

Sonic opened his mouth to reply—but the man was gone as if he'd never been there!

The cobalt blue hedgehog stood there, gawking for awhile, until Shadow, Amy, Mighty, and Commander Jack managed to make their way to him.

"Sonic, are you OK?!" Amy asked, grabbing him in a bone-crushing hug. He appreciated it; so many weird things were going on nowadays it was a relief to have something normal happen, like Amy trying to hug the life out of him.

"Did—you—see—that?" Sonic gasped when his voice came back to him.

"Yes! Sonic it was so scary when the Leviathan charged you, and then it just stopped and screamed and fell and…" Amy trailed off at Sonic's bewildered look. "What's wrong, Sonic?"

"I'm not talking about the Leviathan," Sonic said. "Didn't you see the big glowing guy who showed up and kept that thing from killing me?"

There was a long silence, then Shadow spoke up. "Sonic, there was nobody there but you and the Leviathan."

"But…he was huge and glowing and…you couldn't have missed him!" Sonic spluttered. "You had to at least have _heard _him—he sounded like thousands of people talking at once, and he talked a LOT, too! You guys had to have known he was there…didn't you?" he finished rather weakly. "I _did _see him…"

"Describe this man for me, Sonic," Commander Jack instructed.

So, as best as he could, Sonic explained the mysterious man in great detail to the others. By the time he'd finished, he half-way wondered if he'd imagined the man, it seemed so far-fetched.

Commander Jack, however, had a different theory. "Sonic," he said thoughtfully. "I do believe you saw an Angel."

"An…Angel?"

The Commander nodded. "The book of Daniel describes an Angel that looks much like what you've described, Sonic," he said. "But whatever happened, the Leviathan collapsing dead like that was a miracle from the King. The monster will never attack another being again."

Sonic nodded. "Did…did anyone find out what happened to Cream—the little rabbit girl?"

"She's safe," Amy said. "We found her—Leviathan tossed her aside when he sensed you were near."

"More than likely his orders were to destroy King's Citizens that came to the rescue," Commander Jack said gravely. "The little girl was nothing more than bait."

"But she's OK," Sonic said, wanting to know.

"Yes, she's horribly frightened, but she's not hurt," Mighty told him.

Sonic sighed in relief, then winced as a sharp pain raced up his side. "I wish the same could be said for me…" he muttered, as Mighty helped him stand and leave the forest, and the Leviathan, far behind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9—Never Alone**

**Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.—Psalms 23:4**

…**And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.—Matthew 28:20**

**When the darkness is close at hand**

**And I'm running against the wind**

**I will trust in You and I will not be afraid**

**When I'm standing upon that shore**

**All the battles I've gone before**

**I will trust in You and I will not be afraid**

_**Trust in You**_**, Jeremy Camp**

* * *

The rage of the Dragon could be heard throughout his whole realm. His demons shuddered and trembled at his fury, and the news spread like wildfire: Leviathan was dead. And Lucifer's enemies were stronger than ever, and worse, they were ready now to start their attacks on the Dragon's realm in earnest.

Only Mephiles dared to approach Lucifer in this state. Well, actually, if he had his way, he'd be on the other side of the planet right now. He was only approaching Lucifer because the dragon had summoned him; but Mephiles wasn't ashamed to twist the facts a bit, particularly when the outcome made him look good.

But the Dark needn't have been concerned with Lucifer's summons (as it was, he was nearly about to wet himself) because though the dragon _was _furious, his anger wasn't towards Mephiles this time. Shocking, yes, but Lucifer wasn't blaming him for this latest, most grievous error. The fault laid entirely on the Leviathan; and it was a good thing he was dead, or Lucifer would have had him killed.

"You sent for me, O son of the morning?" Mephiles asked, bowing low.

"What did I tell you about your infuriating habit of kissing up!?!" Lucifer snapped from his cave. "YES, I enjoy praise, but NO I'm not in the mood now! When I want you to grovel I'll tell you to grovel!"

There was a rather awkward silence for a while, as Mephiles had no idea what to do now. Lucifer hissed angrily.

"Well? Don't just stand there, grovel!" The dragon ordered.

"Of course, O magnificent one," Mephiles obediently replied, sounding rather relieved.

"That's better," Lucifer said, sounding somewhat placated. "My plan has failed, as you know, and for once, it was not your fault Mephiles."

"I am most relieved," Mephiles said evenly. He truly was; Lucifer had a habit of pinning everything that went wrong on him, whether it was his fault or not. "You are truly wise."

Ignoring this latest attempt at blatant flattery, Lucifer continued, "We need something. An edge. Something that can tip the balance in out favor…"

"If the most brilliant Lucifer will suffer it, I was going to endeavor to separate them," Mephiles said, trying his absolute best to sound like a groveling lackey so that he would not incite Lucifer's wrath again.

"Oh, go ahead," Lucifer conceded. "You'll probably mess it up, but it will give me time to enact my own plan."

"You are most cunning," Mephiles said, being careful not to let the Dragon realize how much he was seething at the rather belittling comments.

"…Why are you still here?! Get out of my presence!" Flames emerged from the blackness of the cave, and Mephiles gave an unearthly shriek of pure terror and scrambled to get away from them.

* * *

A little over a month passed since the terrifying battle with the Leviathan; and those involved had had sufficient time to heal.

"So, we're going on a field trip?" Sonic asked as he carefully finished the routine maintenance he was supposed to do with his weapons; he needed to clean and inspect them every day, as well as practice with them, so that when the time came he would be capable of using them.

"I don't know what a 'field trip' is," Shadow replied, as he finished the maintenance on his own sword. "We're going to accompany Mighty on a journey to a village in order to learn how to accomplish the main objective of all King's citizens."

"Um…yeah, like I said, we're going on a field trip," Sonic shrugged and ginned carelessly, sheathing his swords and standing up.

"If that is what you wish to call it," Shadow conceded, also standing. "But we are not going to a field."

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious," Sonic snickered. "It's a figure of speech."

"…Oh," Shadow said, his face showing that he still didn't get it. Sonic sighed and dropped the subject.

Mighty poked his head into the room and looked at them. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Sure are!" Sonic cheered, quite eager to start his journey. He wasn't very fond of waiting.

"Come on, then," Mighty ordered. "We're waiting for you."

The three met up with Amy and Commander Jack by the doorway. The commander handed each hedgehog a golden scroll.

"What is this?" Shadow asked, frowning.

"The Word of the King," Commander Jack replied.

Sonic's eyes widened and he eagerly opened his. "It's blank," he said, confused. "What, is He trying to tell me there's no secret ingredient?"

Commander Jack blinked, not understanding the reference, but he quickly replied, "It is a living scroll. When the hour is dark, hope is gone, or questions abound, it will glow, and the Words of the King will be known to you."

"Sweet!" Sonic grinned and put his scroll in a parchment he had found in his Breastplate of Righteousness, right next to his heart. Shadow and Amy did likewise.

* * *

Mephiles the Dark was quite pleased to see his quarry set out from the base; it made his plan all that much simpler. He hurried up the road to a low valley that they must cross, and raised his hands over it. He muttered something low under his breath, and a deep, piercing, fog covered the plains.

Mephiles sighed and examined his work with pleasure. Now all he had to do, was wait…

* * *

It was Amy who first started to slow at the sight of the fog. It did not seem…right, for some reason.

"Are we supposed to go through that?" she asked nervously.

"It is the only way to get to where we're going," Mighty admitted, also looking uneasy at the fog. "We should stay together, and hold each other's hands to keep from getting separated, just in case."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. It's just _fog,_" he said. "And it's not even thick fog!" Without waiting or further thought, Sonic recklessly rushed into the fog, his form vanishing almost as soon as he entered in.

"Sonic!" Shadow yelled, quickly darting after him. Just before he entered, he could swear he saw a flicker of suspicion on Mighty's face as the armadillo watched him, but then he too, entered the bog and his form vanished.

"Hey! You two get back here!" Amy called, rushing after the two.

"Amy, don't! It's too dangerous for you!" Mighty called, or at least she thought he had called, but it was too late to turn back for she also entered the mist.

* * *

Sonic slowed to a stop, looking around. The mist was thicker than he had thought. It was sure weird, too. Instead of being a thick white color, like being in a cloud, this fog was so black he could barely see his hand when he waved it in front of his face.

"Hey, guys, you back there?" he called, listening for their answer.

There was no answer.

"Guys?" Sonic suddenly started to feel _really _nervous. "If this is a joke, I'm not laughing…hello?"

"They're not here, hedgehog."

Sonic's quills stood on end. "Mephiles!" he snapped, whirling all around. But he couldn't see Mephiles anywhere; he just heard his voice.

"They've abandoned you. And why shouldn't they?" Mephiles' voice was full of disgust. "You scarred yourself by running off when someone told you not to a mere three, maybe four months ago, and here you are, running off again. The _exact. Same. Offense._"

Sonic's eyes widened in shock; he hadn't even thought about it like that! He hadn't been thinking, actually. He hadn't _meant _to run away like before, but still…

"Pathetic. They're all sick of having to put up with you while you trip all over yourself again and again. They want nothing to do with a dirty, disgusting sinner such as yourself." Mephiles' accusing words pierced into Sonic's soul.

"Go away," Sonic said weakly, clutching his ears in a vain attempt to block out Mephiles' accusing words.

"Weak. Useless. The King is merciful, but could he _ever _bother himself with such a hopeless, stupid weakling as you? Even after all that happened, you still embrace the thing that scarred you!"

"No, I didn't…it's just happened, I didn't _intend_…I never meant to…"

"Don't you get it? Running away, disobeying what you are told…that's _who you are. _It's so engrained into you that you couldn't stop if you tried. You'll never stop running, Sonic. Why put yourself through this? Why try to keep yourself from doing something that's so natural? Just forget about obedience and run off! It's what you _want_, right? To be your own boss?"

"I…" Sonic swallowed. Mephiles was right. He couldn't stop defying those who were in authority. He couldn't stop running off when he was ordered to stay. He had determined not too; he had fought the instinct; but it was too strong for him.

He was trapped in a way of living that he was growing to hate, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Sonic fell to his knees, feeling utterly drained and hopeless, as Mephiles' wicked laughter taunted him from the darkness. His scroll fell out from his breastplate. He stared at it, contemplating just leaving it there, but he finally decided that he couldn't just leave the King's scroll. He wearily reached over and picked it up.

The scroll began to glow.

Sonic blinked at it and Commander Jack's words floated through his mind, _'When the hour is dark, hope is gone, or questions abound, it will glow, and the Words of the King will be known to you.'_

Trembling slightly, Sonic opened the scroll. There was only one sentence, written in red ink.

_**"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes a hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."**_

Sonic's eyes widened and he nearly dropped the scroll in shock. The he grinned and looked up. "Everybody else can dump me as a lost cause, Mephiles," he yelled. "But God won't! He told me so Himself! So take your accusations and shove them; I'm sticking with my King!"

* * *

Shadow looked all around; but the fog was so thick and dark he couldn't see a thing. "Sonic?" he called, but he received no answer. "Sonic, answer me!"

"Sonic's not here," said an all-too-familiar voice.

Shadow snarled and his hand went to his sword's hilt. "Leave me, demon," he hissed to Mephiles.

"Your hostility wounds me, Shadow," Mephiles' voice purred from the darkness. "You know I only have your best interests in mind."

"You're a liar and a cheat, and I will not be conned by you any longer!" Shadow snapped. "What have you done with Sonic?"

"Nothing. He left of his own accord, as soon as he was certain you were lost in the fog," Mephiles said. "He's hoping you'll starve and die here, in the eternal darkness. He doesn't trust you."

"Another one of your lies," Shadow spat defiantly.

"Is it? You saw the look on Mighty's face as you ran in here, did you not?" Mephiles asked smoothly.

Shadow remained silent; a sure sign that he had indeed noticed the clever deception Mephiles had set up for him. In reality, Mighty had not at all looked at Shadow with suspicion; Mephiles' fog had played upon the ebony hedgehog's dormant fears and made him see what Mephiles wanted him to see.

"After everything you've done to prove yourself, they still hate and distrust you. If attacking the Leviathan won't convince them, what will? And what of Sonic; _he _fell and _you _found him, and in return he attempts to lead you to your death! And you know what, if I hadn't found her in time, that girl you were harboring would have done the same."

"No…" Shadow gasped, horror causing him to protest. "Maria would _never_—"

"Of course she would have. She was just like one of _them _remember? I tried to warn you, Shadow. To protect you. But you wouldn't listen, and now…now you know I was right. They are exactly as I told you they were."

"You…you're lying," Shadow gasped, his face turning an unnatural pale color. "I don't…I don't believe you…I don't!"

"Yes, you do," Mephiles said smoothly. "You know you do."

"I…" Shadow closed his eyes, swallowing a lump in his throat that rose unbidden. Was it true? Had he…had he been deceived? Was it never possible for him to be trusted? To even be allowed a chance?

He noticed that something was glowing in his breastplate and remembered the scroll. He took it out, confirming that it was indeed glowing, and opened it, looking for the truth, whatever that may be.

There was only one sentence.

_**"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."**_

Shadow's breath caught, and he closed his eyes as a small, relieved smile appeared on his muzzle. His King did not consider him an enemy; his King would not abandon him because of his past.

If the King gave him a chance, what else mattered?

"You will not break me," Shadow called to Mephiles. "My King is right here, and He promises not to leave me. As long as He stays with me, I stay with Him."

* * *

Amy froze as soon as she entered the fog; it was so dark and scary! She just wanted to find the boys and get out as fast as she could. "H-hello?" she called. "Sonic? Shadow? Where are you?"

"They've already gone right through the fog and exited the other side," called a voice that she despised.

"Mephiles!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"The question is, what are _you _doing here?" came the haunting answer.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Look at you! Trembling like an infant! Are you a courageous citizen of the King or not? No wonder the others left you!"

"You're…you're w-wrong," Amy stuttered. "My friends wouldn't just leave me here all alone."

"It was either that, or baby sit you forever," Mephiles replied. "You were hindering the work. You don't want to be a hindrance to your friends, do you?"

"I…no…"

"Then just sit here and die already! Who needs a pathetic weakling like you around, anyway? Didn't you hear Mighty? He knows you're too weak for this!"

Mighty had not spoken, either, but like Shadow, Mephiles' fog could block sound, or make one hear things that were not spoken. Amy tried to stop herself from crying, but a few large drops of water fell from her eyes anyway. She angrily wiped them away, and noticed a faint glow from her scroll. Greatly upset, she instinctively grabbed the scroll and opened it.

The scroll read:

_**"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit."**_

Amy read it again. Then she started to laugh. "I've had it all upside down," she said. "I don't _have _to be strong! I just have to trust Him! And I'm not listening to you anymore, Mephiles!"

* * *

Mephiles muttered some very not nice things to himself and withdrew, his evil fog withdrawing with him. Now the three hedgehogs could see clearly and the dampening effects the fog had on their ears so they could only hear Mephiles voice vanished...

They were no more than three inches apart. And they were no more than two feet away from Mighty. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10—Run the Race Set Before You**

**Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,--Hebrews 12:1**

**However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.—Acts 20:24**

**We won't look to the left or to the right**

**You are the One we fix out eyes upon**

**For we run the race set before us now**

**In You we find our great reward**

**Jesus it's Your Name we proclaim**

**--**_**The Way, **_**Parachute Band**

* * *

Thanks to the delay caused by Mephiles' latest attempt to break the three hedgehogs, they did not make it to their destination into late into the afternoon. The first thing Sonic notices, was that he had been _severely _understating the facts when he called it a 'village.'

The second thing he noticed, was that he'd just entered a medieval version of Westopolis. And, while there were subtle differences—such as horses instead of cars threatening to run you down should you venture into the street and the absence of TV antennas on every rooftop—it was quite similar to Sonic's own Westopolis. The streets even had the same name.

The day they entered, the city was preparing for a tournament of some sort, as banners for the day of 'THE GREAT RACE' was literally strung on anything capable of supporting their weight. Everyone was in a festive mood.

Sonic sort of felt like a weirdo with three heads on his shoulder, however, considering the strange glances the group in general—and he in particular—kept getting and the fact that everyone seemed to be given them a wide berth, whispering to themselves.

"What, do I have something on my face?" he muttered.

Even Mighty seem bewildered at the attention. "While King's citizens are indeed an unusual sight here, they do not normally merit this much attention."

"They seem to recognize you, Sonic," Amy finally concluded. "Have you been here before?"

"I don't _think _so," Sonic replied, frowning.

But as they continued on their way, the more apparent it seemed that at one time, Sonic _must _have visited this medieval area, for more and more people seemed to start pointing at him from afar and whisper amongst themselves. Sonic firmly insisted that he had never been to this Westopolis, but the whispers and knowing glances continued until even he was starting to think that maybe he had visited here and just didn't remember.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Amy developed another theory. "Sonic, look!" she gasped, pointing towards a local cavern. A blue figure was standing in the doorway, with a vain and cocky expression as he sized them up.

Shadow's eyes widened at the figure. "It's _you_," he gasped.

Sonic the Hedgehog nodded as he stared into the eyes of…well…Sonic the Hedgehog. Or this dimension's version of him, anyway.

The other Sonic looked him up and down with narrowed eyes. Then he smirked. "They say imitation is the highest form of flattery," he quipped.

"You must really like me then," Sonic replied lightheartedly.

The other Sonic's smirk grew slightly wider. "I take it you're here for the big race?"

"We weren't aware that the race was today," Amy replied.

"What race are we talking about?" Sonic asked curiously.

And instantly found himself the center of attention. While normally this was the position he craved, this particular time Sonic was quite uneasy with all the eyes staring at him in shock.

"What, have you been hiding under a rock all your life?" The other Sonic asked.

Sonic had the oddest feeling of de ja vu, but for the life of him he couldn't figure why. He just shrugged, looking a little sheepish.

The other Sonic rolled his eyes. "The race is a large circuit course around the city that—normally—requires a horse and a rider to complete in time. You have to avoid normal city conditions and lap the circuit twice. The winner gets a solid gold trophy. It's also customary for the winner to give a speech on any subject he chooses in front of the entire city."

Sonic's eyes widened, then he grinned, thinking of what an opportunity for delivering his message winning the race would present.

"What do you mean, 'normally'?" Shadow asked, picking up on the one word nobody else had.

The other Sonic smirked again. "Horses aren't mandatory; they're just the only way you slo-mos can make it to the finish line within the time allowed. Me, on the other hand…" He shrugged and attempted to look humble, but failed miserably. "Well, let's just say I'm faster than the average Mobian. Hardly anyone comes to race anymore because they all know that nobody can keep up with _me._"

"I'll do it," Sonic said suddenly, startling everyone. Their stares equally started him, because he'd not been listening to the conversation after he had learned what the prize was. Figuring he'd better explain himself, he added, "I want to enter the race."

His dimensional twin laughed. "Yeah right! You might _look _like me, but you're _not._ Just who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Sonic," the cobalt blue hedgehog replied, striking his all-too-familiar pose. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

The other Sonic's jaw dropped, closed, re-opened, and then repeated the peculiar performance five or six times, making him resemble a fish. Then his quills bristled and he jabbed his finger in Sonic's face. "Look you, this _isn't _funny."

Shadow, not at all liking the look in this Sonic's eyes or the way he was threatening his friend, instinctively lowered his hand to his sword. But before anything more could happen, a loud whistle sounded, which signified that now was the absolute last chance anyone would have in order to sign up for the race that would take place soon. Normally this whistle was not there; but in recent years since this dimension's Sonic showed up, challengers became fewer and fewer and it became customary to allow potential racers to sign up until literally the last possible moment.

The other Sonic pushed his dimensional twin towards the sign-up sheet. "Go sign in," he ordered, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "_First_, I'll beat you in the race. _Then _I'll beat _you _until you admit that I am the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog."

* * *

News travels uncommonly fast around Westopolis, particularly news regarding entrances to the race. It was no secret that, in this dimension at least, Sonic the Hedgehog was a stuck-up jerk and everyone was always eager to see his potential downfall. Of course, the odds that he would ever be beaten in a race was slim to none; but hope springs eternal, when you come right down to it.

Plus, there was an added bonus in the fact that the one and only challenger this year just _happened _to look exactly like Sonic and stated that Sonic was _his _name. And to top it all off, the challenger was dressed in King's Armor! It was generally believed that King's Citizens didn't participate in such merriments as racing; so if nothing else, a guy in King's Armor racing was _definitely _something everyone wanted to see.

So, it was perhaps no surprise to find that the near-deserted seating arena for this race was packed out in a matter of minutes, while those not fortunate enough to get a seat lined up on the sidelines of the race throughout the entire city hoping to at least glimpse some of the action.

Sonic—our Sonic, the other one was off somewhere bragging in a local tavern—was busy at the moment with things otherthan racing in his armor. The hedgehog was ready to sign his name to the sign-up sheet, but it seemed that Mighty doubted the wisdom of his choice.

The armadillo did _not _approve of Sonic's decision to enter the race. "After what has happened, can you really be so stubborn as to run again? Isn't one scar enough for you, Sonic?"

Sonic frowned. "That wasn't because I was running," he protested. "That happened because I snuck out at night. There's no rule that says I can't _run_."

Mighty crossed his arms, openly showing his disapproval. "When you ran again, you fell into a trap and you also endangered Amy and Shadow," he added.

"That also wasn't because I was running," Sonic replied. "The same thing would have happened if I had _walked _into that fog, which I might add, was what _you _intended for us to do."

Mighty shook his head. "If you insist on this folly, then your downfall is on your own head," he stated, leaving in a huff."

The hedgehogs watched him go, afterwards Amy clutched Sonic's arm worriedly. "What if he's right, Sonic?" she asked.

Sonic grinned at her. "He's not," he said matter-of-factly.

"But Sonic, he _has _been one of the King's Citizens longer than we have," Shadow pointed out.

Sonic bit his lip. "I know. And I also know that he knows things that we don't, and that normally it'd be a good idea to listen to him, but…" Sonic shook his head. "This time, he's basing his arguments on things he doesn't fully understand, not on the things that the King has made clear. And besides, my Sword and my Belt aren't flashing. They flashed the night I took off when I wasn't supposed to—that's why I took my Armor off. If just running is wrong, don't you think I'd get another warning?"

"Has the King told you what to do?" Amy asked.

Sonic took out his parchment and opened it. "No," he admitted, sighing. "I really _would _like Him to come right out and tell me yes or no, though. But who knows? Maybe by not causing my Belt and Sword to flash, He _is _giving me my answer."

Shadow closed his eyes slowly and nodded. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said, turning to leave.

Amy gave Sonic a weak smile and followed Shadow.

Sonic took a deep breath and signed his name to the register. "So do I, Shads," he muttered.

* * *

Five minutes later, the two contestants readied themselves at the starting line. Sonic lightly jogged in place to warm up, while his counterpart readied himself into a startup position.

The race official stepped in front of them and quickly explained the rules. They would have to run along a marked off pathway that circled the city, and if they stepped off the path they would be automatically disqualified. They would have to lap the city twice. The first one to cross the finish line the third time would be the winner.

After explaining the rules, the official raised a handkerchief above the ground and yelled, "On your mark…get set…GO!!!"

The instant the final word was out of his mouth, he let go of the handkerchief, and both competitors zoomed off in a flash of blue and a heavy wind. They were both going so fast that they were out of sight before the handkerchief ever even touched the ground.

* * *

To say that this dimension's Sonic was surprised that his doppelganger could keep up with him would be an understatement, but he simply narrowed his eyes and went faster. His opponent gave him a disarming smirk and also sped up, so that they were neck to neck. So intent were they on outrunning the other that neither of them even noticed that they had finished the first lap and were halfway-through the last one.

Sonic looked at his white-armor clad doppelganger and angrily veered, trying to hit him and force him off the track. This was illegal; but he did not care. Winning was everything to him; he would not and could not come in _second! _

The other Sonic saw him, however, and slowed down considerably so that his opponent didn't hit him. This dimension's Sonic was going so fast that he could not stop in time; but he braked anyway and the momentum he had threw him head over heels and he crashed, what's more he left the designated race arena, so he was disqualified.

The 'good' Sonic zoomed across the finish line for an easy victory, while his disqualified opponent watched him, his face clouded with pure hatred.

* * *

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as he crossed the finish line, slowing to a stop while the people cheered. He waved as the practically dragged him to a stage where he would be presenting his victory speech. There was talk about a prize of some sort, but he didn't care about that. This speech was the reason he'd raced, after all.

Sonic took a deep breath and started, "Hi, everyone. I know you're all excited about the race, and I guess it's time for me to make my speech. I want to tell you about my King…"

* * *

Mephiles the Dark cringed as he heard Sonic witnessing to the entire city from the podium. This was the sort of thing that Lucifer had been concerned about. But he knew that when one did something in order to obey the King, enemies were bound to be made…

The Dark gave an approving nod as he saw a blue hedgehog staring at the King's citizen's look of pure hatred. He slyly walked up close to him.

"You hate him?" Mephiles asked quietly.

The hedgehog nodded slowly and turned to him. "You're here to recruit again, aren't you Mephiles?"

"Not this time," Mephiles replied. "Unless you _want _to join up."

He got a rueful smirk at this. "As I've asked you before, what could Lucifer _possibly _have that interests me?"

"Power," Mephiles said simply. "The power to kill him."

Emerald green eyes lit up evilly. "Now _that_," he said. "Is an offer."

"So, are you in, Sonic?" Mephiles asked.

"I don't think Sonic is a worthy name for me anymore," the hedgehog replied, crossing his arms. "'Sonic' is standing up on that stage, and I hate his guts. No, I'm not Sonic, Mephiles." The hedgehog gave him an evil chuckle and finished. "My name is Scourge."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11—Wolves at the Door**

**When peace like a river**

**Attendeth my way**

**When sorrows like sea billows roll;**

**Whatever my lot**

**Thou hast taught me to say,**

**"It is well, it is well with my soul!"**

_**--It is Well with my Soul**_**, Horatio G. Spafford**

**Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.—Psalms 59:1**

**Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.—Psalms 35:11**

* * *

Scourge the Hedgehog was _not _pleased with his first assignment.

I mean, come on! He was the second-fastest thing alive—the fastest, after Lucifer lived up to his promise and gave him the power to kill Sonic—and all that pompous dragon can think for him to do is to sneak around slowly on some Chaos-forsaken island looking for some twit who spends his time guarding a big rock?

And _why _is he looking for said twit? Because for some reason, that dragon thinks he's one of Sonic's weak points. That in itself was insulting; that some loser on an island who—according to Mephiles—has never even MET Sonic is a bigger threat to him than Scourge the Hedgehog!

If he wasn't sure that Lucifer could give him what he wanted, Scourge would have told him where he could shove this job and walked away.

The hedgehog growled deep within his chest as he pushed away thick undergrowth in an attempt to pass. Somehow he lost his grip on the branches; they snapped back and hit him across the face so hard he literally fell on his back, where he just laid for awhile, waiting for the ability to draw in a big enough breath so he could just cuss out the universe for awhile.

Finally, the hedgehog managed to sit up and touch his throbbing cheek. He felt something wet and withdrew his hand, looking at it crossly. Red.

Great. With his luck, that was gonna scar.

Muttering some unwholesome things beneath his breath, Scourge angrily stood and stomped further into the thicket, completely unaware of the two deep purple eyes that watched his every move.

* * *

Sonic was totally psyched. Thanks to his victory message, 15 people had decided to become King's Citizens. That, was beyond cool.

But now it was over and he was once again back at that training ground, standing at that stupid wall and wondering if today, perhaps, it would show him mercy and allow him to scale it and not feel half-dead afterwards.

Thirty minutes later, as his arms burned and his hands swelled while he desperately tried to free his leg from where it had somehow become so entangled in the rope it could no longer be seen, preventing him from moving forward or backwards, Sonic realized it was just not to be.

Stupid wall!

* * *

Scourge finally made it through the thicket and into a huge clearing with some sort of ruins in it. He looked around, panting with relief—can you believe there had actually been a place where he'd had to scale a stinkin' CLIFF using nothing but a vine? Honestly, what kind of sick joke was that? Took him the better part of an hour, and his arms were throbbing in a way that did not make him look forward to tomorrow morning—and he scanned the area for the twit Lucifer had wanted him to find.

Great. Just great. All that work, and whoever he was supposed to find didn't even have the decency to _be _there!

Unless maybe he was inside that temple-looking place. Shrugging and wincing when the action brought still more pain to his already aching arms, the hedgehog sighed and started up the many steps to the top of the ruins.

* * *

There was no more blood in Sonic's arms. He was sure he had permanently lost all use. He'd finally got the other recruits to stop laughing and realize that his was actually serious and yes, someone could be so hopeless as to get his leg permanently stuck inside a rope while scaling a wall.

But on the bright sight, it wasn't really his fault. This wall had it in for him for some reason. He didn't know why; he certainly had said or done nothing to offend it.

Even with five recruits helping him, they still couldn't get his leg out of that rope. They had had to go get Mighty, the only one around with a sword, and get the armadillo to cut him down.

And I kid you not, when Sonic thanked him, Mighty told him that he owed the institute a new rope!

Now he was sitting inside the mess hall with a plate of food. Not that that did any good; after all, he couldn't get his arms to lift his own hand, much less the weight of a fork with food on it, to his mouth. And even if he could, his hands were so swollen from clutching that rope that they couldn't make a fist to hold said fork anyway. He was reduced to looking pathetic and hoping someone would spoon feed him.

In the end, he really didn't need to try hard to look pathetic; that was coming pretty naturally today. And Amy—bless that woman with her servant's heart!—kindly offered to feed him. And Shadow, being the nice guy that he is, calmly looked away so that had it not been for the fact that his shoulders were shaking like he was caught in an earthquake, Sonic would never have known that his friend was laughing at his expense.

Of course, we all know that every ounce of blame for this predicament Sonic currently found himself in rested solely on that stupid wall.

* * *

Scourge looked around the room, at first disappointed to find that the chamber was devoid of life. Then he noticed something…intriguing…on the far side of the room. It was an extremely large, bright green emerald. Even from this distance, he could feel its power, soothing his aching body. More power than he had ever thought possible.

Enough power to kill Sonic without submitting to Lucifer.

Scourge's eyes lit up greedily at the thought, and he rushed to the gem with excitement, reaching for it.

"Keep your hands off the Master Emerald!"

The unexpected voice caused Scourge to pause and look up. There was a red echidna with deep purple eyes and spiked gloves glaring at him from the entrance. Scourge idly wondered if this was the twit he was supposed to find, but it didn't matter. With this emerald, he would not need to listen to Lucifer. Certainly not to this loser!

"Sorry, pal," Scourge smirked. "Finders keepers, you know."

With that, Scourge reached out and grabbed the emerald. The echidna cried out in anger and lunged for him, only to stop and shield his eyes as a bright light emerged from the emerald.

* * *

That night Commander Jack called a general meeting, as he usually did three times a week. Sonic found that his arms were better; he could now close his hands, although it was painful to do so, and he found that if he really concentrated, he had just enough power over his arms to reach up and half-heartedly scratch his nose. That, I don't need to remind you, was a great relief to him.

The Commander usually led them in a prayer, sang songs of worship to the King, and gave a brief message on the laws of the King, and then dismissed them to dinner. Sonic always found that he rather enjoyed these meetings, and today was no exception, throbbing arms notwithstanding.

But something _was _different today, because as the Pastor finished his message, the dove that had helped Shadow find Sonic flew in from the window, a small scroll in its beak.

You could feel the electricity in the room; the dove only brought the King's messages, and everyone was eager to see what new word was being brought. The Commander Jack reached for it, however, it flew away from his reach.

This act brought surprised and confused murmurings amongst the congregation. If the King's message wasn't for the Commander, than who was it for?

The dove flew around the room a few times, until the whisperings ceased and all were simply watching him expectantly, then it flew down and landed—upon Shadow's shoulders. With a satisfied coo, the dove dropped the message into the startled hedgehog's lap.

"M-me?" Shadow whispered, his eyes wide. The dove cooed again and seemed to bob its head up and down.

"Shadow," Commander Jack called to him. "Would you please read to us the message the King has sent you?"

Shadow nodded, still seeming to be shocked, and he stood, clutching the message tightly as if he would lose it should he lessen his grip even for a fraction of a second. The dove never left his shoulder for a second, softly cooing as if to let everyone know it felt quite comfortable perched on Shadow's shoulder.

The way his hands were trembling, it took a while for the ebony hedgehog opened the scroll. But finally he had opened it and read the message. It was short, only three words.

Shadow gasped and paled as he blurted out, "**Feed My sheep."**

* * *

The POWER!!! It was even more incredible than Scourge had ever imagined! It coursed through his veins, giving him more and more energy. He felt stronger, better, _faster_, than he ever had in his whole life. Images flashed through his head; abilities that were unheard of but that he knew that he could not accomplish. Oh, the _things _he could do with this power!

He giggled as yet another new ability opened to him in his mind, this one more promising that any before. The emerald disappeared; but it was not important. It had no more power. Now he had the power. He had the emerald. He WAS the emerald!

Scourge glanced down at his body. It was no longer a deep cobalt blue. Now it was as green as the emerald whose power it had taken. Scourge decided he rather liked the coloring. Why shouldn't he? It was the color of power, after all.

Total, unbeatable, unlimited power.

Forget simply not following Lucifer! He had the power to control that dragon now! And why stop there? After all, Lucifer wasn't the only powerful being on this planet, no indeed…

But first things first. Before he could take his rightful place as the king of this world, he needed to destroy the one creature who had _dared _to defy him. Sonic the Hedgehog would die. Slowly and painfully, he would die.

With a wicked smirk as he thought of the things he would do to his hated foe, Scourge calmly spoke. "Chaos Control."

* * *

All of Scourge's musings took less than a minute to take place; indeed, a few fractions of a second after touching the Master Emerald he was Chaos Controlling away. All Knuckles the Echidna knew, is at one second, the Emerald chamber was flashing a brilliant white, and the next, the Emerald and the thief were gone without a trace.

"NO!!!" Knuckles yelped, desperately looking around. How could the thief have escaped? He was standing right in front of the only exit! There was no way the thief could have gotten around him!

The guardian fell to his knees, knowing that he had failed in his most important task. The emerald was gone, and he had no way of getting it back.

"Oh, dear."

Knuckles was much too despondant to do anything about this new stranger who had come up behind him save look at the interloper. He was a black hedgehog with grey highlights in his quills, lime green eyes, and no mouth. He was wearing black armor with the symbol of a dragon upon it.

"Who are you?" Knuckles asked.

"My name is Mephiles. I am a servant of Lucifer, the Dragon of Light," Mephiles replied, his voice soft and smooth. "I had hoped I would arrive in time to protect your emerald, young echidna, but I see I my efforts have been in vain."

"The Master Emerald is gone," Knuckles muttered in grief. "The blue hedgehog stole it, right in front of me!"

"Blue hedgehog?" Mephiles sounded thoughtful. "Did he have green eyes?"

Knuckles frowned at Mephiles. "Yes, he did. Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do," Mephiles replied. "He is a servant of an evil tyrant who no doubt wishes to use the emerald's power for wicked purposes. I and my liege have been fighting this menace for years. If you would but join us, my lord Lucifer would be most pleased to help you recover your Emerald."

Hope blossomed within Knuckles once again; if this man knew who the thief was he could lead Knuckles right to him! He could reclaim the Master Emerald and keep its power from being abused. The thrilled echidna nodded his agreement.

"One last thing, Mephiles," Knuckles requested. "What is the name of the thief who did this?"

Mephiles looked sympathetic. He was quite skilled at deceit, after all. "His name," he said gravelly, "Is Sonic the Hedgehog."

* * *

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from Angel Island and currently unaware that he was being targeted and slandered, Sonic the Hedgehog sat next to Amy Rose long after the meeting had been dismissed, silently watching Shadow and Commander Jack talk.

"The message was obviously meant for someone else," Shadow insisted. "The dove made a mistake."

"Neither the King nor the dove makes mistakes, Shadow," Commander Jack replied.

"Yeah, Shads, and even if there was a chance the message might have gotten to the wrong hands, well, the fact that that bird won't leave your shoulder for the world kinda seems to prove that he's got the right guy," Sonic hastened to add.

Shadow looked over to his shoulder to where the dove have him what seemed to be a pleased nod and a gentle coo. Then the dove nestled in Shadow's shoulder, showing that it wasn't leaving any time soon. Shadow sighed.

"Why me?" he asked, sounding even more bewildered. "Of all the people here, why does He pick _me _to become a Commander?"

"It's not for us to decide why the King does what he does. We simply trust that He knows what He's doing," Commander Jack replied. "The only question that's important is, will you agree to do as He asks?"

Shadow's eyes widened. "I—o-of course! I…how could I possibly tell Him no? After everything He's done for me…"

The dove gave a triumphant cry and for the first time in three hours, flew off of Shadow's shoulder. It flew over the ebony hedgehog's head a few times, then, cooing once more, fluttered out a window.

"Man," Sonic muttered. "What is _up_ with that bird?"

Commander Jack chuckled and gave the window a knowing glance, then he turned back to Shadow. "Come with me," he said. "For now, it would be best for you to learn under my guidance so that when the time is right, you will be able to accept your position."

"Yes, sir," Shadow replied softly.

* * *

Mephiles sighed with relief. For once, Lucifer was actually pleased with him.

"At least I know you can do _something _right," the dragon chuckled from the cave as the two looked down into their camp where Knuckles was being fitted for armor. "You always did have a knack for deceit."

Mephiles nodded slightly. "I suppose I am in my element when I use other's emotions to gain what I desire," he admitted.

"The hedgehog was _most _useful, was he not?" Lucifer chuckled. "Yes, quite effective at getting me the echidna for the coming battle."

"What's so great about this echidna, anyway?" Mephiles dared to ask, as Lucifer _was _in a very good mood today.

"Oh, Mephiles, if you only knew the magnitude of what he represents! Everything hinges on the death of the blue hedgehog. Without him, the black one can be shamed to silence, and the girl can be deceived to stillness. He is an encourager…he is here to see to it that they complete their objectives for this world."

Mephiles' mind whirled. "Sonic is not of this world?"

"Of course not, you dummy! His temporary presence is to strengthen their faith and encourage them to do what the King asks of them, then he is to leave. But if I destroy him here, now…not only will I strike a blow against the King in this world, but also in the other! For if Sonic the Hedgehog dies here…" Cold, yellow eyes peered from the darkness. "Then Sonic the Hedgehog cannot do what the King wills him to do in his own world. And the victory I will obtain will be astronomical."


	12. Chapter 12

**The King's message in this chapter is from the New Living Translation; Isaiah 41:9-11.**

* * *

**Chapter 12—A Friend in Need**

**It is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend.—Psalms 55:12-13.**

**Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.—Psalms 41:9**

**Lord I lift my friend to you**

**I've done all that I know to do**

**I lift my friend, to you.**

**Complicated circumstances**

**Have clouded his view**

**And Lord I lift my friend up, to you.**

**--**_**A Prayer for a Friend, **_**Casting Crowns**

* * *

Although it was fairly obvious that Shadow was called to command, everyone—himself included—realized that he had a _long _way to go before he was prepared to answer that call. Commanding is a huge responsibility; after all, if the commander makes a mistake in his teaching, then all his students are almost certain to also make that mistake. As such, the King holds commanders to higher standards than he does others, so it was crucial that Shadow learned how to do the job properly before he jumped in.

As senior commander, it was Jack's job to take Shadow in hand and teach him everything he would need to know. As such, Shadow found that—in _addition_ to the normal training—he spent the remaining hours of the day in a specialized training regimen designed specifically for helping him for the job of Commander. Commander Jack trained him personally, and his sheer tirelessness amazed and slightly bewildered Shadow. Didn't the Commander ever need sleep?

Obviously, this meant that Shadow had less time to spend hanging around with Sonic and Amy. The two missed their friend's presence immensely, but to Shadow's great relief they never resented him for his busy schedule. They were both well aware that the King and His business came first, as well it should.

That's not to say Shadow _never _got a break. He did, in fact, get time off, otherwise he'd collapse from exhaustion. He simply didn't have as much time off as he did before.

While her training was much less arduous, Amy was progressing exceptionally well. Her only major offshoot was that her negative self-image seemed to minimize her progress in her own mind, making her upset with a false belief that she wasn't growing at all. Commander Jack spent more than a few hours addressing this problem, however, and Amy was gradually becoming more aware of her own self-worth, thus causing her to start realizing how much she was progressing.

As for Sonic, he was finally getting used to the rigors of training (and yes, he finally managed to tame that stupid wall, although never with the same grace and speed of the other trainees). The hedgehog could scarcely believe that it had been a mere year since he'd first opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by Mephiles' goons. At times, it seemed as if he'd lived his whole life right here in this dimension, and at others, he missed his home dimension so terribly it felt as if his very soul was breaking apart with grief.

All in all, it was a very peaceful, productive time for all involved. Until, exactly one year to the date of Sonic's arrival, Lucifer's plans started to unveil…

* * *

Knuckles was uneasy with their plan. Mephiles could tell by the way his dark purple eyes kept wandering nervously, and how tense he seemed. And well he should be; Knuckles hadn't completely sold out to the dragon as of yet. which means that he wasn't totally depraved. And only the most depraved of individuals could be completely at ease at what they intended to do.

It was Mephiles' job to ensure that this unease was ignored so that Knuckles would go through with the plan. It was the first step to total enslavement of his mind and soul; the more Knuckles ignored the unease, the vaguer it would become, until one day he would, in fact, be so depraved as to think absolutely nothing of any atrocities, feeling no uncertainty, disgust, or remorse for the vilest of actions. And then they would have him completely.

It was the sort of depravity that Mephiles enjoyed, nay, embodied. The Dark casually strode to where Knuckles was currently, a small overhanging overlooking their objective: a small town filled with King's Citizens. Looking over it, Mephiles felt a chill as he remembered how a similar town had stolen away Shadow from him and landed him in this whole mess. He would have to be ruthlessly cunning in the future so it would not happen again.

"Something bothering you, Knuckles?" Mephiles asked, concern he didn't feel filling his voice.

"I…are you…sure…this is the only way to draw the thief out?" Knuckles asked, his uneasiness showing in his voice.

"Unfortunately, yes. Sonic is so wicked that nothing sort of human suffering on a grand scale will draw him to us. He enjoys it, you know." The lies flowed from Mephiles smoothly. "But we're doing everything we can to minimize the damage; as King's Citizens, every living being down there is just as wicked as the thief is."

Knuckles bit his lip, still uncertain. "I don't know," he muttered.

"Think of all the destruction such wicked beings could wreak with the Master Emerald's power," Mephiles replied evenly. "Surely this is the lesser of two evils?"

Knuckles closed his eyes and slowly nodded, making his decision. "Yes. You're…you're probably right."

With that the echidna turned and walked back to the troops, his resolve strengthening. Mephiles watched him go with a triumphant expression. Knuckles allowed himself one step closer to depravity.

Just the way Mephiles liked it.

* * *

Knuckles the Echidna soothed his aching conscious with logic; but he could not silence it. He felt incredibly uneasy as Lucifer's armies marched into the village. He was amongst the ranks; but as the attacked became more brutal and the carnage grew more fierce, he finally ignored it no longer.

Knuckles grew violently ill to his stomach and half ran, half stumbled away from the village to a nearby wood, where he collapsed to his knees and vomited repeatedly as tears streamed down his muzzle. The images of what he'd allowed himself to witness—and even participate in—would haunt him till the end of his days. He strongly suspected they would torment him even beyond the grave, if that were possible.

Knuckles closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his head as a sob arose in his throat. What kind of person must this Sonic be, to actually _thrive _on such things?! And what kind of person was Mephiles, condoning such actions as proper and necessary in order to draw out an enemy?

He wished he'd never had to leave his Island and get caught up in all this horrible mess. When that thief, Sonic, showed up, Knuckles would kill him, take back his emerald, and get as far away from these people as possible.

* * *

It wasn't long before word of the attack came to Sonic, in the unlikeliest way possible. He hadn't been at the training ground; instead he, Amy, and Shadow had been at a nearby town with a special market going on this week looking around during one of the rare times when all three of them had time off together. A traveling merchant informed them that the Dark had destroyed the village and had quite literally set up camp next to it.

Of course, the news distressed the three greatly, though Shadow was quite vexed for a much less obvious reason.

"Mephiles would often attack the outer settlements," Shadow said. "But he never hung around long enough to let anyone learn of it. He always left as soon as it was destroyed. The only reason he's remaining there is because he's trying to draw someone out."

"So it's a trap," Sonic said. "But the town Mephiles ransacked is less than a day's journey to tons of other towns. If we don't take him down he'll keep killing people."

"Should we go inform the Commander?" Amy asked.

"By the time we do that, it will be too late," Shadow replied.

"So what _do _we do?" Sonic asked. "Go after Mephiles and his goons by ourselves?"

"That's practically a suicide mission!" Amy protested.

Shadow closed his eyes. "We need to ask for guidance," he told the two, jogging off to find a secluded place to perform this deed, Sonic and Amy on his heels.

Having located a spot that fit his purposes, the three knelt and Shadow spoke aloud. "My King, tell us what we are to do. Should we go after these enemies who would destroy everyone?"

After a silence, the living scrolls they carried all began to glow brightly. Taking them out, the three read in unison:

**I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.'**

**For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.**

**Don't be afraid, for I am with you. **

**Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.**

**I will strengthen you and help you.**

**I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.**

**See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated.**

**Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing.**

Sonic read the message again and let out a triumphant whoop. "Now _that's _what I call an answer!" he laughed. "Let's go get 'em!"

With that, he was gone, leaving his friends to follow him as best they could. Shadow and Amy looked at each other and grinned, being well used to Sonic's impatience by now.

"Always on the move," Amy said, her voice full of amusement. Shadow chuckled and the two took off after their hyperactive friend.

* * *

Sonic arrived at his destination a fraction of a second later and looked around. He could see the tell-tale whispers of smoke from the recently destroyed village off in the distance; as well as several tents that boasted that the destroyers were indeed still here.

Sonic's lip curled with distaste at the sight. Mephiles truly had _no _shame whatsoever. The Dark one would certainly have to pay for the crimes that he so enjoyed committing. Sonic's only uncertainty was whether to go after him now or wait until Shadow and Amy caught up with him.

He was still wondering when a cry of pure rage and fury rang out from behind him, and something hard hit him in the back and knocked him down. Sonic gasped quietly as whoever attacked him grabbed his shoulders roughly and yanked him around to face his attacker.

Sonic was already reaching for his weapons as this was happening, but when he gazed into the cold, furious violet eyes of his attacker his mind—as well as his body—went completely numb from shock.

Knuckles. Knuckles was working for Mephiles.

"No…" Sonic whispered in horror. Not this. Anything but this!

* * *

Knuckles felt a grim satisfaction as he faced his Emerald thief at last. He'd fully convinced himself that everything he'd witnessed that day was entirely Sonic's fault, and he needed to pay for that. He fully enjoyed the look of shock and terror on the thief's face as well. Good. He knew he was in trouble, then.

Sonic stared at him, wide-eyed, for several seconds, then before Knuckles could react the hedgehog kicked him in the stomach. Knuckles gasped as the air left his lungs and he loosened his hold on Sonic. The hedgehog rolled to his feet, his swords in his hands before he completed his role.

Knuckles regained his breath and stood, glaring at Sonic with pure hatred. Sonic's eyes were full of unshed tears, as if his very soul was being torn from his body.

"Knuckles, how could you join _Mephiles_? He's pure evil!"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you stole my emerald, thief!" Knuckles snarled, charging Sonic and throwing a punch at his head that would have killed him if it landed. Sonic dodged out of the way and elbowed Knuckles' in the jaw, causing the echidna to back off again.

"What are you talking about?!" Sonic snapped, his confusion evident in his voice.

"You know full well!" Knuckles snarled, jumping again. This time Sonic wasn't able to dodge fast enough; although he avoided most of the punch Knuckles managed to give him a glancing blow across the side of his temple; the force sent Sonic reeling as stars exploded in front of his vision.

Knuckles came after him again, but was knocked aside by a Shield which strangely resembled a Piko Piko Hammer.

The echidna regained his balance and looked to the two new interlopers, Shadow and Amy, with barely controlled fury. Sonic took the time to recover himself and he stood up.

"Stand down," Shadow warned, unsheathing his sword. "We outnumber you three to one."

Knuckles smirked. "Do you now?"

A dark puddle appeared from the ground next to Knuckles, growing and forming until it revealed Mephiles the Dark.

"Mephiles," Sonic spat the name like it was poison.

Knuckles was ready to attack again, when a bright light appeared between them, causing all involved to look away.

* * *

Mephiles shielded his eyes from the light, recognizing it even as he silently pleaded for it to be something else.

No such luck. The light faded to reveal Scourge the Hedgehog, curse that incompetent buffoon! He was poised to ruin everything!

Scourge had his back turned to Mephiles and Knuckles; idiot probably didn't even realize they were there. His full attention was on Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Hello Sonic. Remember me?" Scourge asked malevolently.

Mephiles hissed quietly and started to draw on the dark powers he gained by serving Lucifer. It would take him a long time to charge enough power to destroy someone radiating as much Chaos energy as Scourge was; but he could do it.

Scourge had outlived his usefulness. It was time to toss him aside like the pawn he was.

* * *

Sonic gawked at the green hedgehog who smirked at him with his arms crossed. Sonic could feel Chaos energy radiating from him; more than Sonic had ever felt without the presence of the seven emeralds.

"Who are you?" Sonic demanded to know, hoping for time. Could King's Armor stand up to Chaos energy?

"Don't you recognize me?" The hedgehog sneered. "You creamed me in that race, remember?"

Sonic's eyes widened with shock. "Sonic?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, please, call me Scourge." Scourge grinned at him, although it was not at all a pleasant one. "Sonic's so…lame."

"Where'd you get that much Chaos energy, Scourge?" Sonic asked, already starting to suspect he knew how. No wonder Knuckles was so teed at him! He had to keep this joker talking until he confessed…

Scourge, luckily, was _more _than willing to fess up. "Great, isn't it? More than enough to take over this whole world. Better yet, it's enough to get rid of you! I got it when I swiped a giant emerald on a floating island."

Out of the corner of his eye Sonic saw Knuckles stiffen and his eyes widening in shock. Good, now it was time to get Scourge to reveal Mephiles' involvement—and Sonic would bet his sneakers that the Dark was involved. The cobalt blue hedgehog huffed. "Floating island? Aw, come on! There's no such thing. Even if there was, how'd _you _find it?"

"Ooh, Mr. I'm-so-smart. Well it does exist. Mephiles sent me there to swipe it for him, but I double-crossed him."

Knuckles looked horrified. He looked over to Mephiles. "You _lied _to me!" he gasped.

Scourge's ears perked up at the sound, and he twirled around to where Knuckles and Mephiles were. "Well! Isn't this a surprise! Tell me, Mephy, what do you think of me now?"

"I think you talk too much," Mephiles replied as his attack finished forming, and he threw an orb of black, cackling electricity at Scourge's chest.

Scourge gasped as the orb hit him; his body contracted as the orb entered his body; causing no outward damage but literally tearing his insides apart. The hedgehog looked up at Mephiles in shock as he collapsed to his knees.

"You fool. You actually thought _Chaos power _would defeat Lucifer? Please, you're not even strong enough to beat me!" Mephiles taunted him as Scourge fell to the ground, dead. His body seemed to phase in and out; eventually a bright light enveloped him and when it dissipated his body was gone and the Master Emerald was in its place.

Knuckles was glaring at Mephiles with a look of pure hatred. "You lied to me. Used me to…to…" The echidna trailed off as a haunted look came to his eyes, but that vanished quickly to be replaced with fury. "I'll kill you for this!"

"Oh, grow up," Mephiles told him, raising his arm and narrowing his eyes. Long trails of darkness emerged from his fingertips and wrapped around the echidna, trapping him. Knuckles struggled against the bonds but he wasn't strong enough to break free.

"I'll break you later," Mephiles warned him. "You'll make an excellent soldier when you realize how futile it is to resist me. But right now…" Mephiles closed his eyes as his body began to morph, crystal tips appearing on his quills and his fingers growing more clawlike as he changed to a form that allowed him to access his powers more readily. This done his eyes snapped open and he glared at three valiant hedgehogs in King's armor, armed and ready to oppose him. Mephiles cocked his head at them with amusement. "First, I have a pest control problem to fix."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13—Who Can Be Against Us?**

**Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.—1 Corinthians 16:13**

**In His unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph over all my enemies.—Psalms 59:10**

**Stand—having done all this**

**Stand—with emphasis**

**Stand—with no analysis **

**Even when you don't understand**

**Put your armor on**

**Stand on the foundation**

**Stand—rely upon**

**The strength that has always been there**

_**Stand**_**,--Petra**

* * *

Sonic braced himself, his shield activating almost without conscious effort mere moments before Mephiles rammed him. The strength of the attack made Sonic's head buzz, partially dazing him.

Mephiles laughed wickedly, his hands glowing briefly as a black void formed within them. He tossed the sphere carelessly towards the dazed hedgehog, hitting Sonic's shield so hard that the hedgehog lost his footing and fell.

Sonic's shield deactivated.

"Pathetic," Mephiles sneered, another black sphere appearing in his hands. He tossed it at the now-unprotected Sonic's head.

All this had happened in less than five seconds, before Mephiles' opponents could even think of retaliating. Sonic, still dazed from the force of Mephiles' blows, couldn't even think of dodging the deadly blast that was hurling towards him. All the cobalt blue hedgehog could do was close his eyes and pray that it wouldn't hurt as bad as it looked like it hurt.

It didn't hurt at all. He didn't feel a thing. Which was strange; because even though he didn't want to feel pain, he was fairly certain dying should feel like _something._ Confused, Sonic opened his eyes to see Shadow standing in front of him, having blocked the fatal blow.

Mephiles' lime green eyes practically looked red with hatred and fury at seeing the person he currently hated more than any other dare to defy him yet _again._ With a scream that could barely be considered human, Mephiles tore his sword from its sheath and charged Shadow. The ebony furred hedgehog hurriedly raised his own weapon and just managed to get it to a defensive position in time to block Mephiles' blow.

The two adversaries glared at each other for a while as they each struggled to gain the upper hand in their deadlock.

"Sonic," Shadow managed to hiss through clenched teeth when he realized his friend was just staring at him numbly. "Sonic, get up!"

Sonic started, then he scrambled to his feet, grabbing his swords in either hand and taking a defensive position while Shadow and Mephiles broke away from each other and began their attacks in earnest.

Even though Sonic was able to perceive things quicker than a normal creature (a quite useful skill for one who enjoyed racing around at supersonic speeds without going splat on anything), he had trouble determining who was who. Shadow and Mephiles were fighting so furiously at such speeds that the two blurred together into what appeared to be a shapeless mass.

And while it was hard for Sonic to distinguish the two, it was impossible for Amy to do so. Shadow's friends felt quite helpless as they stood to the side, weapons at the ready, desperately searching for some way to aid Shadow during this fight.

Amy half-way lowered her Shield in her determination to find some opening in which to attack. She peered anxiously at the battle, trying to deduce which participant was Mephiles.

She got her answer a fraction of a second later as one of the blurs managed to backhand the other and Shadow collapsed backwards, slowing enough for her to distinguish his features.

"Look out, Amy," Sonic warned, his eyes managing to catch Mephiles' latest trickery before Amy Rose ever could. Amy, trusting her friend, raised her shield instinctively and heard the tell-tale _plink_ of a sword bouncing off of it. Still relying on her honed instinct, Amy swiped blindly with her own weapon.

Mephiles hissed and stumbled back, a small trickle of dark mist leaking from his forehead where Amy had managed to nick him. "Not bad, girl," he said approvingly. "You know Lucifer could use one so cunning as you."

Amy felt her stomach twist with disgust at the idea, and her lips drew back in a snarl. "No thanks," she told the Dark. "I'm happy where I am."

"Good girl," Mephiles said callously. "Not many people are happy to die."

No sooner had the last word escaped him than Mephiles was a blur again, his weapon aimed at Amy's heart. This time, however, he was made to pause when Sonic's swords interlocked with his own. The cobalt blue hedgehog glared at Mephiles accusingly, then Sonic tensed and pushed his arms outward. His swords had interlocked with Mephiles' in such a way that the movement easily disarmed him. Mephiles' sword bounced away from him and landed, discarded, on the ground.

Sonic twirled and moved in until his swords were mere inches away from Mephiles' neck. He paused there, still glaring at his enemy dangerously.

Surprisingly, Mephiles' response was laughter. "Showing mercy? How tacky." The Dark's hands moved like lightning, grabbing Sonic around either wrist and yanking them backwards, while at the same time his knee came up into Sonic's midsection.

Sonic gasped as the blow knocked the air out of him and his traitor knees buckled under him. Mephiles laughed again, then quickly dodged to the side. A small _whoosh _of air whizzed past the Dark's ears, and he turned and gave a malevolent glare to Shadow, who was trying to regain his balance now that his attack had failed. Mephiles chuckled at the attempt and another black void appeared in his hands. The Dark took aim at Shadow and released his sphere.

Shadow's eyes widened as he realized he was too close to the sphere to dodge it in time. His body tensed, but Amy's Piko Piko Shield was in front of him in a moment.

Amy swung her hammer at the sphere the same as one might swing a bat at a baseball. She connected with the black void and sent it hurling back in the direction of it's original owner.

Mephiles' eyes widened. "Oh…" the epithet he was about to utter died off as the Dark threw himself to the ground in order to avoid his own energy attack.

Shadow, not taking his eyes off of Mephiles, extended his hand and helped Sonic get back on his feet. Mephiles likewise stood; the amusement in his eyes fading to be replaced with cold, calculated hatred.

"I'm done with these tiresome games," Mephiles hissed, his body starting to glow.

His three tired opponents stood side by side, watching Mephiles warily.

"Shadow, we've done everything we've been taught to do," Amy panted. "What do we do now?"

Shadow's eyes never left Mephiles. "We stand."

"And you die," Mephiles added, his body pulsating brilliantly as a humongous black void began to appear. Sonic's eyes widened; there was no dodging that.

"Oh, help us, my King," Amy half whispered as her eyes watered.

Sonic gulped, looking around. There were no swords falling from the sky to slay Mephiles; no angels appearing to block his attack.

The only thing there was, was a small white dove fluttering down from the heavens and flying between the three exhausted hedgehogs and their enemy.

"Shadow," Sonic whispered, not believing his eyes. "Is that…"

Shadow nodded. "That crazy bird that keeps showing up."

Mephiles gave a hoarse cry as he released his giant sphere; it came closer to them, swallowing up anything that got in its way, leaving behind a barren, lifeless husk as it continued towards them.

The bird did not move; nor did the hedgehogs. There was no point, because the sphere was moving towards them so fast they could not have dodged it, not even with Sonic's super speed. The sphere came closer and closer…it enveloped the bird…

…And it froze.

* * *

All three hedgehogs—as well as Mephiles—stared at the void, which started to glow from the inside. The glow grew hotter and brighter, growing outward until the whole sphere was a brilliant white; the four witnesses had to look away because of the sheer intensity.

There was a small popping noise, and the void seemed to implode in on itself, destroying itself.

The dove remained behind, its body glowing brilliantly, almost as if it was on fire. The dove turned its gaze on Mephiles, who shrieked in pain and dropped to his knees, clutching his head.

The dove opened its mouth, and a _voice _emerged. The sound was as if thunder was rumbling down the hills a thousand times over; the ground shook with each syllable.

**"Be still!" **

Mephiles howled again in sheer agony as his body began to smoke.

The dove was now definitely on fire, but it did not burn.

"How is this possible?!" Mephiles shrieked as he felt his body disintegrate. "How are you doing this? Who are you?!"

**"I AM!"**

Mephiles let out one final howl, and then his body evaporated into smoke. The Dark one was no more.

"Is…is it over?" Sonic asked uncertainly, clutching his weapons nervously.

The bonds that held Knuckles fast faded to nothingness and the echidna quickly jumped to his feet, eying the others worriedly—although most of his attention was on the dove.

"Knuckles," Sonic's heart skipped a beat. Here was the perfect opportunity to save Knuckles! "Knuckles, listen. I—"

But the echidna was shaking his head wildly, bewilderment and panic framing his features. "No, no, no…it can't…I don't …" Then, before Sonic or his friends could stop him, Knuckles darted off into the woods and disappeared.

Sonic sighed and lowered his head. He had been so close; he had just KNOWN that if he could have spoken to Knuckles… But this wasn't the time for 'what ifs.'

The dove turned and looked at Sonic, the fire dissolving. Sonic felt its eyes boring into his, and suddenly he felt dizzy and lightheaded. It was an odd sensation; and a vaguely familiar one at that; that of moving although he was standing still.

Sonic felt himself start to drift off to sleep; but not before he heard one final statement; a whisper really, but still audible.

**"Well done."**

* * *

"Sonic?"

What…where was he? Sonic's head felt heavy and he hadn't opened his eyes yet.

"Sonic!"

Who's voice was that? It sounded familiar…

"Get up you bum!"

This time, the voice was accompanied by a small kick to Sonic's side. The hedgehog's eyes snapped open, and he looked upward to where a very peeved Knuckles the Echidna was glaring at him.

"Knuckles?!" Sonic jumped up. "You came back!"

"Uh…yeah…listen, Sonic, about what I said back at Tails' workshop…" Knuckles' face looked redder than usual as he rubbed the back of his head.

For a second, Knuckles thought something really bad must have happened to Sonic, judging by the blank look his friend was giving him. Then Sonic's eyes widened and he looked around. "I'm back on the hill," he muttered, almost to himself.

"Say what?" Knuckles asked.

But Sonic wasn't doing any explaining. "Knuckles, how long was I gone?"

"Uh…you ran off about ten minutes ago," Knuckles admitted.

Sonic looked stunned. "Ten minutes? Ten _minutes?!_" The hedgehog grew contemplative. "Then what happened?"

Knuckles looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. "How should I know? It looks like you fell asleep on this hill."

"Asleep?" Sonic suddenly appeared crestfallen. "I was asleep?"

"Either that or you were impersonating a hog rooting for truffles," Knuckles replied, rolling his eyes as he referenced the fact that his friend snored rather loudly. Then the echidna sobered as he remembered why he'd come. "Listen, Sonic, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm glad you've found something that you're so…in...too, I really am, it's just that…"

Sonic gave Knuckles a small, almost-sad looking smile. "Don't worry about it."

"No, really," Knuckles insisted. "I wanna make it up to you."

"Does…that mean you'll come with me to church Sunday morning?" Sonic asked hopefully.

Knuckles gaped at the hedgehog, then he started to laugh. "You're incredible, you know that?" he said, when he could draw in breath to talk. Then he shrugged. "I'll think about it. But don't get your hopes up or anything," he warned, walking off.

Sonic grinned as he watched Knuckles go, then he yawned, stretching to awaken his legs, which had fallen asleep. "I'm going to pray that God'll chase Knuckles down from now on," he said aloud to no one in particular. "Because if God can catch _me_, ol' Knucklehead doesn't stand a chance!" The hedgehog grinned at his own joke, then he frowned and grew contemplative. "That was a weird dream I had, though. I could've sworn…oh, well."

The hedgehog shrugged and his gaze fell upon his leg. Sonic gasped and his face went white. "No way!" he whispered in amazement.

A long jagged scar traced his leg, signifying that perhaps, just perhaps, Sonic's dream wasn't a dream at all…

**The End**


End file.
